


The Wingman

by orphan_account



Series: The Wingman [1]
Category: Harrison Osterfield - Fandom, tom holland - Fandom
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Harrison Osterfield - Freeform, Multiple Pov, tom holland - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-09-17 03:57:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 77,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16967211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When Tom doesn't have the guts to go up to a beautiful girl and ask her out himself, Harrison tries to play matchmaker, unfortunately, things don’t go as planned.





	1. The One at the Airports

You ran around your house, looking for a hairbrush. How was it that anytime you actually needed it, it seemed to disappear into thin air?

Knowing that there was nothing else that you needed to pack into your suitcase, you slammed the lime green luggage closed. The zipper just barely managed to go all the way to the other side. Then, you put the two sliders in the lock, mixing up the three number combination so it wouldn’t be deductible anymore.

Proud with your own packing skills, you sat down on your bed. The bright suitcase in front of you. The color was more vibrant than you remembered. At first, it seemed like a good idea, but now that you looked at it… The color couldn’t be more attention seeking. Especially at nine in the morning, when nobody at an airport is fully awake yet. Your suitcase would practically be a visual alarm.

“Fuck! Harrison!” Tom yelled out from his room. It was a mess. A complete disaster. Laundry was lying everywhere. Not a piece of floor visible anymore. And in the middle of it all, lay Tom.  


“What’s up, Tommo?” Harrison stuck his head out from behind the door. Tom could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

“I broke it. I broke the bloody suitcase!” he groaned and sat up straight on the ground so his best friend could see him from behind the bed. He was pretty sure there was some underwear stuck to his back, but he didn’t care. They had to leave for a flight in less than an hour and his suitcase just exploded on him.

“What do you mean, you broke it?”

“I mean, I broke it! I must have overfilled it because the zipper broke off and when I tried to pick it, everything fell out.” Tom looked around. He saw a white dress shirt hanging off of the cactus in the corner of the room. “What the fuck do I do, Haz?”  

“I think we have another suitcase somewhere in a closet. I’ll go look.” Harrison left the room. Tom let out another frustrated groan and let himself fall back on the floor. His back hit the hard surface, but fortunately, his head fell against some trousers. He tried to keep his mind clear. If Harrison actually did have a proper suitcase, maybe they still had a chance on making the flight. He sat up for the second time.

Right then, Harrison came rolling in, with the biggest and brightest suitcase Tom had ever seen. It was twice the size of the luggage Tom had tried to fill before, so this should be no problem. Harrison pushed the luggage towards Tom who caught the handle as it reached him.

“How have I never seen this before?” He looked at his friend and the suitcase. He couldn’t believe it had been in their flat all this time.

“I had it in the back of my closet.” Harrison shrugged. “Now, go get packing.” He threw a shirt in Tom’s face. Then, still, with a bright smile, the blonde left the room also leaving Tom to pack on his own. Tom didn’t know where to start, the mess slightly overwhelming him. There was also the problem of time. He didn’t know where his phone was (problem numero 3) and he didn’t have a clock in his room, so telling time was not possible. Tom just assumed that he had around thirty minutes. If more, than great! If less, well, he had to hurry anyway.

Picking up stray pieces of clothing around him, he threw them back on the bed. Just to have some space to move around himself and to get all of his things in one place. Once he had given himself a proper range to walk around in, he pulled up the lime green suitcase and opened it next to his feet. Then, he threw everything on his bed, into the suitcase. He had no idea what all of it was, but he saw clothing and underwear, so that must be good enough for a few days.

“Tom! The car’s here!” Harrison yelled out from the hallway. Tom cursed under his breath as he threw in the last few items into his suitcase. He made sure that he had his phone charger in there before closing the two halves together and zipping them up. Then he put the case on its wheels and started pushing it out of the room. Harrison was already waiting for him in the doorway.

“Mate, have you seen my phone?” Tom checked his pockets, even though he knew it wasn’t there.

“Yeah, you put it in your backpack.” He wanted to ask Harrison if he had seen his backpack, but then his friend pointed down at the floor, where a black backpack was leaning against the wall. Tom sighed in relief. Pushing the lime green giant forward, he picked up the backpack on his way. Harrison walked ahead, towards the driver that was waiting outside next to a car with tinted windows. When Tom stepped outside, the driver glanced down at the neon yellow-green baggage Tom was carrying alongside him.

“You sure know how to stay lowkey, don’t you, Tom?” he muffled a laugh.

“Airport security is going to kill me. I know,” he said and greeted the driver with a handshake. “We didn’t have anything else.” the driver took the lime monstrosity from Tom to put it in the back of the car. Tom walked over to Harrison who had just opened the door of the car. He sneaked in between his best friend and the vehicle into the seat.

“You dick.” Harrison slammed the door shut in Tom’s face and walked to the other side of the car to get in himself now.

________________________________________

You were in the parking lot of the airport. The wind that seemed to come from nowhere was blowing your hair in your face.

“Well, I’ll see you in two weeks.” you hugged your best friend and roommate tightly. She hugged you back with a little wiggle. Still holding on to you she said: “Just promise me to get some, while you’re gone, okay?” You laughed at her request.

“You know this is a work trip. I won’t have time to be hitting on guys.”

“You don’t have to do anything. Guys will be throwing themselves at you. Just stay safe.”

“I will.” You hugged her again. Then when you pulled away, you grabbed your suitcase and started walking backward. “New York City, here I come!” You waved your best friend goodbye with a big smile. You probably shouldn’t have been doing this while walking backward in a car park, because a car stepped on its breaks only inches from you. The loud sound of a horn filled the otherwise silent parking.

“I’m sorry.” you apologized and ran off to the exit, waving once more to your friend who was rolling her eyes at you.

________________________________________

The ride to the airport was quick, yet boring. Tom took out his phone from his backpack and started scrolling through Instagram. It was just the usual memes, fan-edits and pictures of food. His attention was only brought back to the outside world when the car suddenly stopped. If it hadn’t been for the seatbelt, Tom would have broken his nose against the chair in front of him.

He looked up from the small screen of his phone. They were inside, in the parking of the airport, he assumed. In front of them, stood a girl. She looked a bit startled as she yelled out: “I’m sorry.” before rushing off to the side. The driver in front sighed and started driving again until they found a parking spot closer to the assigned exit to the rest of airport he and Harrison were supposed to take.

“Well, here we go.” the driver unbuckled his seatbelt, so Tom and Harrison did so as well. They opened their doors and the smell of gasoline and exhaust gases filled Tom’s nostrils. He hated it. The lighting in the garage was limited, a bit yellowish. Even the suitcase didn’t seem to be so bright anymore. But Tom knew that would change the moment he and Harrison would step into a hallway with proper light.

________________________________________

You had just gone through the security check when your phone rang. The face of your best friend lit up on the screen so you picked up.

“Hey, whats-” she didn’t let you finish though.

“Oh my god, you will not believe it!” She screamed out. You had to pull away from the phone from your ear.

“Won’t believe what?”  

“The car that almost ran you over.” She sounded extremely excited for some reason.

“What about it?”

“Tom fucking Holland was in it!” She screamed even louder. You made a sound that was somewhere in between a gasp and a squeak. A woman seated next to you in the waiting area looked over with a raised eyebrow. Your cheeks heated up in embarrassment so you tried to ignore the looks other strangers were giving you. You put the phone back to your ear and continued your conversation.

“How do you know he was in that car?” For some reason, your voice turned to a whisper.

“Because when I was driving to the exit, I, later on, saw him get out of the car…fuck, he looked hot.” She groaned. In the background of the call, you could hear the sound of cars honking.

“Maze, are you driving and calling?” you asked your best friend.

“Don’t worry, there’s so much traffic I won’t move for the next five bloody years.”

“Right, well hang up when you start driving. I promised you to stay safe in NYC, so you better be in one piece too when I get back.”

“I promise babe. Call me when you land.”

“You’ll be asleep.”

“Call me, damn it! Oh, got to go. The assholes in front of me finally decided to move. Byeee!” And she hung up. You turned off your phone and just sat there on the chair for a moment, staring blankly at the black screen. Was Tom Holland really here? Right now. Exactly where you were? The idea alone was unbelievable. You shook your nerves off. Even if he was at the airport. Heathrow was big. The chances of you seeing him were minuscule.

When your flight number was called, you got up, hung your backpack over your shoulders and walked to the gate. There was already a long line so there wasn’t much you could do except wait.  _You should have gone for that coffee._

________________________________________

Harrison walked next to Tom. The airport security was around them, making sure that they had an easy access through all the people to get to their flight. Their flight that was supposed to depart in fifteen minutes. They weren’t exactly rushing their walk. It was like an up-tempo jog.

He hadn’t even realized when all those people around him got there or even how, but suddenly he was surrounded by yelling and camera flashes. He had gotten used to it pretty early on in his career, but it was just  _too early_  today.

They reached the gate. All the other passengers on the flight were already gone, possibly waiting for the two of them to arrive so the plane could take off. Tom felt a slight touch of guilt in his stomach. All these people just wanted to get on with their flight, but because of him and Harrison, but mostly him, they had to wait even longer than what usually a person has to wait during preparation for a take-off.

________________________________________

You sat down in your seat. Thankfully it was next to the window. The only problem would be now if you had to go to the toilet, you would have to get past the other two passengers that would sit next to you. Whoever it was, they hadn’t arrived yet. You looked out of the window, down at the grey asphalt ground where people were still streaming into the plane, up the stairs to the entrances at both ends.

You could feel movement next to you and it made you look up. A nice looking lady stood next to the row of your seat. Next to her stood a boy that looked to be around the age of six.

“Good Morning,” she said. You repeated the words and looked out the window again. It was around eleven… in the morning? The sun was out and shining bright, at least you hoped so. It was a cloudy day, giving the surroundings that grey and gloomy atmosphere. The one that made everything look a bit sleepy. In the distance, you could make out the residue of the mist.

“Good morning, ladies and gentleman.” the voice of a stewardess sounded over the intercom. “We shall be departing soon.” You looked at your phone to check the time. It was already ten minutes past the original departure time. You wondered what was taking so long. All the passengers seemed to be seated. But then, you saw movement outside. Two guys were walking to the back of the plane. Around them a handful of security guards. You tried to get a better look at the two figures. Could it be them? As they neared the plane you almost screamed. Their faces were mostly screened by their caps, but you were pretty sure that it was them. You watched as the two men were lead to the back entrance. The closer to the plane they got, the worse angle it was for you to see it.

When it was not possible anymore for you to catch a glimpse of them, you unlocked your phone and turned off the airplane mode. You started writing your text to Maze:

**OMFG!**

**They are here!**

**Tom & Haz are on my flight!**

**I’m gonna die**

**Ok g2g**

**I’ll call you when I get there**

You send the messages as quickly as you could and then turned airplane mode back on. A thought of your friends’ reaction zoomed by in your mind. It was probably cruel of you to send them in a moment she couldn’t reply and then make her wait eight hours for more information.

You could hear footsteps behind you. Only a few rows away. They were there. You had to fight the urge of just turning around in your seat and screaming. You took a few deep breaths. The mother next to you noticed it.

“Nervous, dear?” You looked at her. She was holding her son’s hand. The kid’s eyes also were directed at you. He looked excited, but also a bit scared.

“Not exactly, no.” You told the woman. She nodded, unconvinced. Yes, you were nervous, but not because of the flight. And what were you supposed to say to the stranger?  _Oh, see those hot guys a few rows from us, yeah those two. I’m kind of in love with one of them, even though he doesn’t even know I exist._  No, not the best way to start off an eight-hour flight.

The voice of the flight attendant boomed over the plane again: “Ready for departure. Please turn off all devices. May I have your attention for a moment as my colleagues demonstrate the safety features of this aircraft.” You listened but none of the words actually came through. Your mind was in complete overdrive. The idea of Tom and Harrison just sitting a few feet away from you made your hands shake. You could feel your eyes begin to sting because for a moment there, you forgot how to blink. You were frozen. Only snapping back on when a flight attendant walked up to you: “Are you alright, miss?”

“Huh? Yes, yed. Everything’s fine.” you laughed nervously. Everything was so far from okay. You tried to keep calm. You didn’t want them to think you were a lunatic. The man’s eyes lowered to your backpack.

“I’m sorry, miss, but I must take your backpack into the overhead compartment.”

“What? But it’s small. It fits under my seat.”  You had stuff in there that you needed through the flight and you had no exact pleasure in walking back and forth any time you wanted something.

“I’m sorry,” he replied, “But only handbags and laptop cases. It’s a regulation.” You sighed as you took out your book and headphones from your backpack and then handed it over to the man. He smiled apologetically and walked away to put it in an overhead compartment. Most of them were already filled to the brim, so you watched him walk to the back of the plane. That’s where they were. The flight attendant put your backpack in an overhead compartment that was a row or four behind you. You turned back around to face the chair in front of you and sank deep in your seat as the plane started to move.

________________________________________

Tom sat down in his seat next to Harrison. It was the last row of the plane. A few people looked at them, slightly annoyed as they had walked in. he didn’t blame them. They had caused an, at least, twenty-minute delay. The whole plane probably hated them.

Even though he had been on a thousand of planes and knew the safety features by heart now, he still watched the three flight attendants show how to fasten the seatbelts and the locations of the emergency exits. He heard Harrison laugh.

“What?” He turned to look at his best friend, who was apparently laughing at him.

“You’re doing it again, mate.” Harrison laughed even louder, causing a few people to turn around and give them killer looks. Tom had not even realized what he was doing. Unconsciously, his hands went along with the movements he saw in front of him. He had heard those instructions so many times. He had seen air hostesses and hosts perform the little routine over and over again in the last few years. Sometimes there was some variety in it, but it was always the same basics. After some time he had quickly learned most of the things that were told and just for fun he would go along. Harrison had caught him a few times before doing it unconsciously, just like now.

“Oh, shut up,” Tom said. Harrison started laughing even more at his weak response. This was gonna be a great flight. A flight attendant was walking in their direction. Tom thought that maybe he would tell Harrison to shut up, but nothing of that came true. He was just putting a backpack in the head compartment above.

Then the plane started to move, indicating that in a few minutes they would be hundreds of miles in the air. Tom put on his headphones and picked a playlist he could fall asleep easily too.

________________________________________

This sucked. You had taken out your headphones and book, but now you just wanted to sleep. But with everything going on around you, it was almost impossible. Yes, you had sleeping pills but those were still in your backpack. The backpack that you would have to get up for, walk through that small aisle and then stand in front of some random person’s seat while you tried to get your carry-on that most likely was jammed in the compartment by the steward, that you could barely get it out.

With a sigh, you excused yourself to the woman and child next to you as you tried to get out of the row of seats. The shimmying down to the passage in the middle wasn’t so bad, with neither you or the other to passengers taking a lot of space. Finally free, you walked to the end of the plane. You thought you had seen the man put your backpack in the last compartment so that is where you were headed.

Before you reached it though, you stopped in your tracks. Your eyes widened and you were pretty sure you were about to faint. You forgot how to breathe.

There he was. Tom Holland. His head rested on his head, his eyes closed. He was probably asleep. _He was asleep!_  You couldn’t go now. What if you woke him up? You just wanted to disappear… a sudden chill went through your body as you thought about  _the scene_  from Infinity War. It had been months, but that movie was a traumatic experience.

Still a bit shaky, you walked on, as quietly as possible. When you reached the row he and Harrison were sitting in, you tried not to look at them. Just keep your eyes on the luggage compartment. You opened it with a soft click. You looked inside. Yes, your backpack was in there. Unfortunately, the flight attendant thought it was a good idea to shove it all the way back there. You cursed your short limbs as you stretched out your arms and tried to reach it. No luck.

Harrison had been on his phone and only noticed you standing there when you jumped up to get it. You could feel the strap of your carry on with your fingertips. You looked down, defeated, and were met with his gorgeous blue eyes. He was smiling. Your whole face heated up and immediately looked away. This was too embarrassing.

Suddenly, you could see Tom stirring in his sleep.

________________________________________

Tom woke up when he felt some sudden movement around him. It felt like his seat was shaking. He stirred in his seat and slowly opened his eyes. For a single moment, he had forgotten where he was. It especially confused him when he was met with the view next to him.

Only inches away from him, stood a girl. Her chest was parallel to his face. A dark zip-up hoodie unzipped, showing a light blue shirt. When it hit him what he was actually looking at, he turned away a bit flustered.  Harrison smirked. Tom moved as far as he could to the side of his seat and looked at the girl again. Her arms were stretched out, reaching for something in the compartment above them.

“You need help with that, love?” He asked. She looked down from what she was doing. When their eyes met, he smiled, not knowing what else to do. Seeing him do that, the girl froze. Her arms still holding on to the bottom of the receptacle.

“Uhm, yes, if you don’t mind.” She finally huffed out. Tom undid his seatbelt and got up. The girl moved aside so he could stand next to her and take out the bag for her. “It’s the uhm, the black one. In the back.” She said. Tom looked inside the compartment and indeed saw a black backpack shoved all the way back. It was the backpack he saw the flight attendant put in there before he dozed off.

“There you go, darling.” he pulled it out and handed it to her. She smiled sheepishly.

“Thank you.” It looked like she wanted to say something more. Instead, her cheeks turned even more pink and she turned around. Tom watched her get back to her own seat. When she looked back at him, he quickly sat down, embarrassed he was caught.

“She was kind of cute, wasn’t she, mate?.” Harrison commented.

“Yeah, she was.”

________________________________________

You sat back down. Your arms were still clinging onto your backpack. Your mind was blanking and at the same time you couldn’t concentrate on a single thought. So much was going on.

That actually happened. Tom Holland helped you with your luggage and then you actually caught him staring at you. You played the moment over and over in your mind. You were walking back to your seat. Asked the woman in seat A is you could pass her and her son. While they were moving their things around so you could pass through, you could feel someone looking at you. You turned in the direction from where the feeling was coming from. Tom was still standing there, where you had thanked him. When he saw you looking at him, he immediately turned away and sat down. His body language screamed embarrassment. You could see that from the distance between you.

Now you were back in your seat. Your whole body warm and a bit shaky. With trembling hands, you opened your backpack and pulled out the strip of sleeping pills. You weren’t sure if it was actually a good idea to take them now, but you needed some sleep. Right when you were about to pop out a pill from the packaging, you remembered an article that said that it could be dangerous to take pills on a flight. Something to do with disorientation during crises. With a small groan, you left the pill packaging undamaged and dropped it back into the dark void of your backpack. This was going to be a long flight.

Still wanting to sleep, you leaned yourself against the wall of the plane. Using your backpack as a last minute pillow you put on your headphones, pulled up the hood of your sweater and tried to fall asleep.

________________________________________

Tom tried to go to sleep again, but it didn’t work. The girl had left a bigger impression on him than he had expected. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He wished he had said something more to her. Or maybe just wished he hadn’t looked away so soon when she caught his glance. He wanted to see her again.

He got up, Harrison didn’t even notice him moving. There went all the minutes in which Tom tried to come up with an excuse for his friend. He sighed and walked to the row he thought he had seen her walk back to. He walked up to the row. A woman, probably around her 30’s was sitting in the aisle seat. Next to her a young boy. The girl Tom was so desperate to see sat in the seat next to the window. He couldn’t see her face. It was concealed by the hood of her sweatshirt. She was leaning against the backpack he had handed her. From the way she was sitting faced away from the rest of the plane, Tom assumed she had managed to do what he wanted to: sleep.

The passengers next to her hadn’t noticed him yet. The woman was reading a book while the boy was watching a movie on his iPad. Maybe they were traveling with her. He decided to take a shot.

“Hi, excuse me,” he caught the woman’s attention. She looked up from her book and so did her son. He looked Tom up and down and then his eyes widened when he turned back to his small screen. Then back at Tom. Tom looked at what the boy had been watching before. He had to hold in the laugh as he realized it was Spider-Man: Homecoming.

“You’re Spider-Man!” He yelled out excitedly. A few people looked around confused, but Tom decided to ignore them. He smiled at the boy. In his American accent, he whispered: “Yeah, but would you keep it down. People aren’t really supposed to know.”

“Right, sorry.” the boy giggled. His mother smiled and turned her attention from her son to Tom: “You were saying.” she smiled sweetly. For a moment Tom had forgotten what had brought him there, being too excited to meet a fan. Then he saw the girl near the window stirr in her sleep and it brought him back.

“Oh, yes,” he cleared his throat, “Do you know her?”

“Sorry, no.” She looked over at the girl, “We just happen the share the seats. Do you want to talk to her?” The woman was ready to get up. Tom stopped her immediately. Talking not too loudly so he wouldn’t wake her up. “No, no, that’s okay. Let her sleep. I’ll, uh, I’ll catch up with her when we land.” he smiled and walked away, in the direction of his own seat. He didn’t dare to turn around. Too embarrassed about what had just happened. It was strange. He normally never got nervous or awkward like that around people. But this girl, she was something else. She made him a mess… And he didn’t even know her name!

________________________________________

You woke up at the touch of a small tap on your shoulder. You wanted to shake it off, pretend it wasn’t happening. But it continued. Then you heard a hiss: “Luke, stop that!” It was the woman sitting next to you, telling her son off for waking you up.

Still a bit drowsy you turned around to face the two. The boy stopped moving, probably a bit scared of how you would react. The mother seemed to think the same.

“I’m so sorry sweety. He just didn’t want to listen.”

“It’s okay.” You rubbed your eyes. “What time is it?”

“I don’t know, but we’re already descending..” And as if on cue, your ears popped and the horrible pain shot through your head. No matter how many times you flew, it always hurt and you hated it. But it was also a good sign. You were already landing. You managed to sleep through the biggest part of the flight.

“Mommy, do you think I can get a picture with him?” The sound of the boy’s voice sounded through the pain. You knew it wasn’t any of your business, but you were curious what your neighbors were talking about. The mother sighed.

“I told you, Lukey, you will have to ask him. I’m sure if you do, he will be glad to take a picture.” The boy clearly didn’t seem to be happy with his mother’s answer. Suddenly he turned to you. You were a bit startled by the action.

“Do you think he will go on a picture with me?”

“Uhm, I don’t know who you’re talking about,” you said apologetically. To the boy as well as the mother.

“Spider-Man of course.” He whisper-yelled enthusiastically. You were confused. “You know him right?”

“I do?”

“Yeah, he was here, before. He was looking for you.”

“He was?” You looked at the kid’s mother who just raised her shoulders. Could it be true? Was Tom Holland actually looking for you?  _No, don’t get too excited._ You tried not to raise your expectations too high. Maybe something had fallen out of your backpack and he just wanted to give it back.  _But nothing fell out, though._

The boy, Luke, was still looking at you, awaiting an answer to his question. You didn’t know what to say. The kid truly believed Tom was Spider-Man. Well, he was, but…

“I don’t know him  _that_  well. But I’m sure that he would love to take a picture.”

“I knew it. See, mom!” he turned around to his mother, who was reading a book now. She just nodded. You had the feeling that this conversation had happened before during the flight.

The voice of a flight attendant boomed over you: “Ladies and gentlemen, we shall be arriving at JFK airport shortly. Local time is 3:12 pm and the temperature is 69 degrees Fahrenheit or 21 degrees Celsius. For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the Captain turns off the Fasten Seat Belt sign.” Then the voice-over went quiet again.

________________________________________

Tom was excited to be back in America. It felt like ages since he had been to the country of Freedom. Especially in New York. Maybe this time he could finally go to the Empire State Building…

“Please check around your seat for any personal belonging you may have brought on board with you and please use caution when opening the overhead bins, as heavy articles may have shifted around during the flight.”  They had almost landed and Tom barely even noticed the descending of the plane. Had he really been so occupied by that girl?  This was crazy, he knew it. He barely knew her, no he didn’t know her. Literally, the only thing he knew about her was that she had a backpack. He had to get over this. She could be lesbian as far as he knew. Then he would never have a chance.  _Oh, so now I want a chance with her?_  He was so confused by his own thoughts.

Or what if, actually, she was just a horrible human being? That’s the thing about strangers, you can both smile at each other, but in the end, you don’t know who they are. And he couldn’t go up to her and ask:  _“Hi, I was just wondering, have you ever kicked a dog?”_

“Hey, you alright, mate?” Harrison bumped him in the shoulder. It was like a small awake call. “You’ve been staring at the chair for a while.”

“I have?” Tom blinked a few times to help his dried out eyes. How long had he been staring in front of himself?

“Yeah. You look a bit tense.” Harrison glanced at him with worry.

“Nah, I’m fine.” The plane suddenly hit the ground, making everything shake a little. “Got lost in a thought, I guess.”

“That’s a first,” Harrison scoffed. Tom punched him in the arm, adding a “You prick.” behind it. The two of them laughed a little before the seat belt sign vanished from the small panels above them, giving them and everyone else the sign they were good to go. Tom quickly got up and pulled his and Harrisons bags. He wanted to be ready to leave before everyone else started to walk around. Being in the last row, meant that they had easy access to the exit in the back.

Tom sat back down, backpack in hand. He looked like all the people around him did what he had just done, just a bit slower. He had  _almost_  forgotten about the girl, almost. A minute later, when the doors were opened from the outside, people started to hustle their way over to the nearest exit. The girl was walking to their side. Tom wanted to move but the sight of her made his whole body freeze. She was walking slowly, through the crowd of tired people. Her hoody was looked so big on her it was, Tom thought she looked adorable. But a small punch of anxiety hit him. That sweater wasn’t her size. What if it was her boyfriends? Of course, I girl like that would never be single. He was so stupid to think otherwise. He wanted to slam his head in the chair in front of him.

“Tom, get up!” Harrison pushed him. Tom got up, still a bit paralyzed by the girl that had just passed him. He had just noticed the small smile she gave him before disappearing into the back of the plane and walking out.

The man standing in the aisle in front of them, let him pass. Tom thanked him and he followed the people in front. Not like he had much choice. The stewardess standing next to the door smiled brightly at Tom. He noticed that her smile was much wider towards him than the rest of the passengers. He just responded with an awkward smile and kept on walking. The moment he stepped outside, the hard cold wind blew in his face. From the top of the stairs, he could see the girl walking by the wing of the plane, like the rest of the passengers. Tom’s legs again failed to move. Only when Harrison almost pushed him down did he start to walk again.

“Honestly, what is the matter with you today?” he asked once their feet touched the solid ground.

“Nothing,” Tom glanced to the front of the people, where he could see her. She had taken her hood off, so her hair blew in every possible direction. Harrison apparently had followed his gaze.

“Is it that girl from earlier?” he chuckled lightly.

“What? No!” Tom rolled his eyes.

“So, I can assume it is.” he looked at her again. “You should go and talk to her later.”

“Are you crazy? I’m not doing that!” His hands were shaking in his pockets.

“Yes, you are. As your assistant and wingman, I am making you.” Harrison grabbed Tom by the shoulder and started to push him in the direction of the girl. Tom groaned and tried to get himself out of his friend’s grip.

________________________________________

You had been pretty quick with getting out of the plane, so you also managed to get by the control without a long of a wait. That, however, compensated when you got the luggage belt. It had already been ten minutes since you got to the conveyor belt and it still had not started to move. You were one of the first people of your flight to get there, so you chose yourself a nice spot at the beginning of the line. Slowly it started to fill up with people you recognized from the flight. As nonchalantly as possible, you tried to look around, for that one specific head or brown curls. You hadn’t seen him though.

_It would have been weird if he was here,_  you thought too. You had already been surprised that he was taking a normal flight, and not some fancy jet like any other big celebrity.

The conveyor started to move, thankfully. Bags poured out onto the belt. All different shapes and sizes, but most of them still in the range of black and grey. Sometimes there would be a red one or an even a suitcase with some nice print on it, but yeah, mostly just black.

Then you saw the big, lime green suitcase of yours. You walked up to the conveyor and grabbed the handle on top. For a moment you were scared that you wouldn’t be able to pick it up and it would drag you along. But you managed. With a groan, you pulled it off and put it on its side, wheels on the ground. You started to push it forward when you heard fast footsteps behind you and a: “hey, wait!”

________________________________________

After their passport check, Tom said to Harrison that he had to go to the toilet. He didn’t really, but he hoped that if he stayed there long enough, maybe the girl would have already left and he wouldn’t have to be forced by his best friend to talk to her.

If only people could see him now, standing in front of a sink in a public bathroom, hiding from - basically - a beautiful girl. The last time he was this nervous to talk to someone was probably when he was twelve. This was pathetic.

Before Harrison would walk in and check up on him, Tom splashed some water in his face and then walked out. His friend had been on his phone. Next to him was a luggage cart that he had probably picked up while waiting.

“You took your time, mate. Okay, let’s go.” He pushed the cart towards Tom. he grabbed it by the handle and continued pushing it in the way where the conveyor belts were located. When they got there, the belt was already running. Tom looked at it for his own bag, but after half a minute he remembered that he had a different suitcase than normally. He had taken Haz’ horrible green one. He couldn’t see it on the belt. Maybe it hadn’t come out yet. Then he saw a blur of green neon on the other side. He ticked Harrison on the arm. He wasn’t really thinking, his mind completely blank. He was just looking at who it was that was currently rolling away with his things. It was the girl!

Harrison finally looked up from his phone. But Tom, was still mindlessly slapping him on the arm. His eyes wide and his mouth almost agape.

“You absolute idiot. Go!” But Tom still didn’t move. “Before she runs off with your stuff.” that should have done it, but it didn’t. Tom could hear Harrison groan as he threw his backpack on the cart that Tom was still holding on to with one hand. Before he knew it, his best friend was already almost behind the girl. He heard him say: “Hey, wait!” The girl turned around. This was the sign for Tom to move before Harrison could say something to her that would make Tom want to get snapped into dust by Thanos.

As he neared the two, the girl watched him with a horrified face. He didn’t know what to think of it.

________________________________________

You turned around. The person behind you was much taller so you had to look up. You were immediately met with a pair of beautifully piercing blue eyes. More steps could be heard behind the gorgeous blonde and you looked in that direction. You almost fainted right there. There he was. Tom Holland walking to you. A luggage cart in front of him. Even in a simple white shirt, he still looked hot as hell.

You felt your eyes widen and your cheeks heat up as the two boys looked at you. Tom reached the place where Harrison was standing, only one step further away from you.

“Hi, sorry love, but I think you got my friends suitcase,” Harrison said, pointing at the luggage next to you. You looked down. A bit confused. Did you have Tom Holland’s suitcase in your hands? The urge to just run away was really big. But no, you had to control yourself. You didn’t want to get kicked down by a bunch security guards.

“What? No. I don’t think so. This is mine.” You laughed nervously. Your hand gripped the handlebar tighter.

“You sure about that, love?” Harrison raised an eyebrow. You looked at him, at Tom (who was still standing behind his friend), at your suitcase, then back between the two men in front of you.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. Unless your friend also has a neon green suitcase with a neon blue name tag with my name on it”

________________________________________

The girl showed them the name tag attached to the suitcase. On the small piece of paper inside of it, Tom could read her name:  _(Y/F/N)_. Next to it was her number and email address. He had an inner battle with himself. Should he ignore it or remember it? His second thought was to kill Harrison after the girl would walk away. He knew he shouldn’t have walked up to her.

“I’m so sorry. We’re gonna leave now.” Tom pulled Harrison by the sleeve of his t-shirt. Away from the poor girl who still looked startled at the exchange she just had with them. His friend wanted to object, but she was quicker.

“Wait!” Tom turned around at the sound of her voice. He saw her glance to the side for a second and smile, then she asked: “Do you mind taking a picture?” So she knew who he was. Just great.

“Uhm, no of course not.”

“Great.” She smiled. Then she looked back in the direction Tom saw her look at before. “Hey, Luke.” A lot of emotions had gone through Tom in those five short seconds. At first, he was excited. He wanted to hug her. Try to do without making it look so creepy as it sounded. Then, when she said that name his heart sunk. Was Luke her boyfriend?  Would he have to stand next to them? It hurt to think about it. Then all that sadness disappeared when he saw who Luke actually was. It was that boy sitting next to (Y/N) on the plane.

The boy was running towards them as fast as his short legs could manage while he was still holding on to his mother’s hand. He looked so excited.

“Hi, Luke,” Tom said in his American accent. “Nice to meet you.” He was still holding his mom’s hand. The woman smiled nicely at Tom and then lowered herself to look at her son.

“Go on, ask him.” She whispered. Luke turned back to Tom and very softly asked: “Could I take a picture with you?”

“Of course.” Tom got to his knees too as his mom took out her phone to take the picture. Right before she did, Harrison interrupted. “Sorry, I see our things. I’ll go get them.” Tom’s legs were shaking from the position he was in. He gave Harrison a look that this wasn’t really the time.

“Okay. Go.”

“Right,” he wanted to take a step, but took one backward instead, “Do you have a pen, maybe?”

“I don’t know. Maybe in my backpack.” Harrison nodded and walked away to get the suitcases. Tom apologized to the boy and his mother. Then with a big smile, they took the picture. The mom wanted to walk away again.

“Do you know my Spider-Man move?” He asked Luke. the boy nodded and moved around quickly, holding his arm forward and pretending to press the web-shooter. Tom did the same and the boy’s mom took another picture.

“Thank you so much.” She said.

“No problem.” Tom smiled and got up. “Always a pleasure to meet fan.” He wanted to do a high-five with the boy, but to his surprise, Luke went on doing the whole Peter and Ned’s handshake. Like an instinct, Tom managed to follow along. He had practiced it so much with Jacob it was easy, but the boy went much faster and he had never expected him to do it. “A big fan, I see.”

“Thank you, Spider-Man.” the boy said went back to his. But he didn’t grab her hand like she had expected him to do, instead, he almost immediately walked away again, towards (Y/N). She looked as confused as the mother.

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything.” she smiled.

“But you’re friends with Spider-Man. That’s still cool.” Tom furrowed his eyebrows and smirked when he shared a look with her. She wanted to say something to Luke but he already walked away with his mom.

“So, we’re friends?” Tom commented, back in his normal voice, once the two were far enough.

“Uhm, last time I heard,  _Luke_  said I was friends with  _Spider-Man_.”

“But, love, I am Spider-Man.” Now that he was finally talking to her properly, all the nerves seemed to have gone away. He had not suspected it to be so easy to talk to her.

________________________________________

On the inside, you were freaking out. You didn’t know how you managed to talk to Tom so casually. Or how you managed to stay on two feet when he called you “love”.

“Yeah, but it’s not the same, is it?” you crossed your arms, trying to look a bit unimpressed. You had no idea if it actually worked. But if you had your arms crossed at least, he wouldn’t be able to see how much your hands were shaking.

“How come?” He had taken a few steps towards you and put his hands in his pockets. The fact that he was just standing there, talking to you made you weak at the knees and now you were expected to answer him. You were done for. Fortunately, Harrison walked back with their suitcases on the cart. One of which, was indeed, just like yours.

________________________________________

“We should probably go, mate. People are waiting for us.” He patted him on the shoulder. Tom knew this was a sign for _just ask her, dammit!_  but he couldn’t do it.

“It was really nice to meet you, both of you.” she looked at him and Harrison.

“Yeah, you too.” he took one hand out of his pockets, but not really sure why. Now he had no idea what to do with his hand. “Uhm, really nice.” Tom could practically feel the eye roll Harrison was giving him in his guts. He just hoped (Y/N) didn’t see it.

“Would you like a picture?” Harrison asked. Tom turned around to his friend and looked at him to make sure he was serious.  _What was he thinking?_

“No, no. I’m fine. Meeting you guys is already more than I can ask for.” she said blushingly.

“C’mon I know you what a got shot of Tommo here. It’s the least he can do after we basically harassed you back there.” Harrison threw his arm over Tom, who just wanted to become one with the ground and melt from embarrassment. He appreciated what Harrison tried to do here, but this wasn’t really the best scenario.

“Harrison, piss off,” he said through gritted teeth. “I want to remind you, that  _you_  were the one that went up to her. I didn’t do anything.”

“And that’s why I will be the one taking the picture.” He let go of Tom’s shoulder and walked to (Y/N). She was holding her phone in her hand. A bit unsure, she handed him the phone. Harrison looked at it and smiled: “Nice cover.” She just smiled. Then Harrison walked back to where he was previously. In that short moment, he gave Tom another look.  _GO! Do not screw this up!_

Tom answered with a look of  _You know I will!_  as he walked over to her. He felt like he shouldn’t be looking at her. So, looking at the ground he said: “I’m sorry.” It wasn’t the only sound he heard, though. Because at the exact same moment, she had said the exact same thing. He didn’t understand what she was sorry for, but it did feel a bit reassuring.

With a big smile on his face, he draped his arm around her. He could feel her eyes on him, so he returned the look. (Y/N) looked away, putting a strand of hair behind her ear.

“You know what, that green thing is ruining the whole composition.” Harrison jogged over and wheeled her suitcase over to his side. She had put her backpack on top of it, so when he pushed a bit too far it was on the verge of falling to the ground. At the last minute, Harrison caught it and put it on top of the cart with their own luggage.

“You’ve been spending too much time with Harry, mate.” Tom laughed.

“I’m just trying to take a nice picture,” Harrison replied seriously.

________________________________________

Tom’s arm was around your shoulders this whole time. He could have just let go of you, but he didn’t. It was nice, you had to admit. He was much taller than you, so the height difference made it easy to lean on you a bit. But it wasn’t a lean that put pressure on you. It was comfortable.

“Smile.” Harrison pulled up your phone into the air, making your Iron Man phone case very visible to the boy next to you. You had no idea how many pictures Harrison took, but when he thought it was enough, he turned around and put his arm in the air. He already had the phone on selfie mode. In the screen, you could see he had his tongue stuck out, so you did the same. You went with your standard selfie pose, without thinking, which was a peace sign.

“There you go,” Harrison handed you your phone.

“Thank you. I don’t really know what to say.” Tom took his arm off you and, even though it was a literal weight off your shoulders, you missed it from the moment he let go.

“No problem. The pleasure was all mine, love.” Tom smiled at you and you could feel your heart flutter. Your phone buzzed and you looked down. The notification didn’t really matter to you anymore when you saw the time.

“I think I should get going. I cab is waiting for me and I’m pretty sure a hundred people are waiting for you to walk through that door.” you pointed backward, where the exit of the baggage hall was located.

“Yeah, we should. Well,” Harrison walked up to you with your luggage. You were pretty sure it was yours because the blue tag on the suitcase gave it away. You hadn’t even noticed him walking away and getting your things. “there you go.” Putting your backpack on the same shoulder Tom’s arm had just been, you thanked them once again and slowly, wishing this moment would never end, walked away.

________________________________________

“I can’t believe you didn’t ask her out.” Harrison hit Tom on the back of his head, proving his annoyed tone even more.

“C’mon, I couldn’t ask her out.” Tom tried to defend himself.

“I know, that’s why I did it for you.” Harrison started to push the cart to the exit. Tom stood in his spot, dumb-founded. Had he missed something? Did he have another blackout of overthinking and completely missed how Harrison had asked (Y/N) out in his sake? But no, if he did, she would have said something.

“What are you talking about?” Harrison ignored the question. He kept on walking. Tom looked at the backpack on his back. “Haz, whose backpack is that?” It wasn’t his, it was way too clean. “Harrison!” Tom ran over to his friend. Only stopping when he was in front of him and pushed the cart back into him. “Did you seriously steal her backpack?”

“No. I just gave her mine.”

“So, you stole it. What is wrong with you?” Tom couldn’t believe it. He was friends with an absolute idiot.

“There is nothing wrong with me-”

“Yes, there is. There is something missing in your head and it’s called  _moral sense._  You can’t just switch your backpack with hers.”

“Well, she has your number.” Harrison pushed the cart forward with a little more force, giving Tom no other choice but to jump to the side to not get driven over.

“No, she doesn’t.” They were now walking to the exit. Around the corner, they could hear the loud voices of the paparazzi and fans. He didn’t want to have this conversation around all these people. “This is not over Harrison!”

________________________________________

You walked out to the greeting hall where literally hundreds of people were waiting. You knew they were all here for Tom. It was already very loud and you could only imagine how much louder it would get once he was there.

You made your way through the crowd. Soon after you saw a man in his forties hold a sign up with your name on it.

“I am so sorry.”  You said when you got near him.

“Problems with the conveyor?” He asked with a low voice. You smiled at the thought of what had actually happened: “Yeah, you could say so.” The man looked a bit confused at you, but you ignored it. He then told you to follow him to the car. He had offered to pull the suitcase for you.

“No, thank you.” you declined, not even sure why.

At the car, you finally had to let go of your trusty green luggage. The driver put it in the trunk and then opened the backseat door for you. He got into the car after you. You told him what address to go to and sunk back into your seat. Now finally having a little moment to comprehend everything that had happened. You met Tom Holland. You met Harrison Osterfield. They talked to you. Took pictures with you. Tom called you “love”… it was all getting a bit too much.

The silence in the car was getting a bit unbearable. Being too awkward to ask the driver if he could turn on the radio, you reached out for your backpack on the seat next to you and that is when you noticed it. There was something wrong about it. The backpack was dirtier than you remembered, more worn down.  You picked it up and put it on your lap to take a closer look. It was also lighter.

Yeah, this wasn’t your backpack. Just like yours, it was a black Eastpak, but there were small changes in the design, so probably an older model or something. You were freaking out a bit. Now you had no wallet, no ID, no phone charger! This was not good. You were thankful that at least you kept your credit card in your phone case so you could pay the driver.

But if this wasn’t yours, who did this backpack belong to? You tried to think when there was a possibility that they could have been switched. You only let go of it twice today. The first time when on the plane, when Tom gave it to you. But then it was still your backpack. All your things were still in there.

The second time was when Harrison took it away to take the picture. You gasped. The driver looked in the mirror at you. This was their backpack! Tom or Harrison. You were freaking out now. Why would Harrison give you his or Tom’s backpack? The whole situation was getting too weird for you.

Then you noticed the front pocket of the pack was open. What if you lost something on the way to the car. You checked if anything was in there, so you could put it in the other part of the backpack. Fortunately, there wasn’t anything in it except for a piece of paper. You pulled it out. For some reason, your name was written on it. Did this give you the right to read it? You hoped so because that’s what you did. With slightly shaking hands, you unfolded the paper. In small scribbles there was written:

**If you’re reading this, it means that poor Tom failed at asking you out himself.** You forgot how to breathe for a solid minute after that. Continue reading the message, you had to keep reminding yourself: in, out, in, out.

**You have to excuse his incapable ass. The point is, he really likes you. Sorry for hijacking your backpack. You’ll get it back if you call him:**

You looked in disbelief the small row of numbers. You were staring at Tom Holland’s number. How on earth did you come to this point in your life? There was one more thing written on the paper. Even smaller than the other words. You had to be honest, it was impressive how he had managed to cram everything up on this small piece of paper.

**I hope you can manage to forgive me after your date.**

**_H._ **


	2. The One in the Hotel

“You dickhead!” Tom exclaimed as his best friend told him what he did. “I can’t believe you actually did that.

What were you thinking?” They were sitting in a car, on their way from the airport to the hotel. Harrison had just finished explaining his master-plan. Before Tom had responded, there was a long moment of silence in the vehicle. The only sound was the grazing of the wheels on the road and the motor. From time to time, a car in the lane next to them honked.

“Oh, c’mon, you’re going to be thanking me later,”  Harrison smirked. He watched Tom massage his temple as his arm was leaning on the car’s wall. On that little space of the door where the window rolls inside. The car took a sharp turn, causing Tom’s elbow to slip off. He groaned as his head hit the glass, hard. Harrison started to laugh even harder.

“Why would I thank you? You just gave my number to a complete stranger! Not to mention, you stole her backpack.”

“I didn’t steal it,” Harrison repeated the sentence for the tenth time.

‘Eh, yeah. You did, mate. You may have given her yours, but if you took it without permission, it’s  stealing, you fucking genius.”  Tom couldn’t express the frustration at his best friend properly. He could see the look he was getting from their driver through the mirror.

“Okay, the backpack thing aside then. I don’t see why you’re so pissed. You clearly like her.” Harrison pointed out. Tom wanted to shrug it off. Just scoff and ignore the comment. But what would even the point in that? He would only be lying to himself. The moment he saw (Y/N) for the first time, standing so close to him, he felt something in him that he had never felt before. It was strange and he still wasn’t sure if he liked the feeling, but it was undeniably there.

“See, the fact that you didn’t reply, only proves my point.” Harrison leaned back in his seat, a satisfied gleam in his eyes as he looked away. Tom also looked away from his best friend, but in his case, to roll his eyes. It would have been perfect if he didn’t say anything anymore. If he would have just remained the silence that the two of them were working on, then maybe the subject could have been dropped. So, in the end, it was all Tom’s fault really.

“So what if I do like her? It is still my choice to give her my number. What if I did that to you?” Harrison responded without a second to think in between: “To a girl like her? Please do, mate.”  

________________________________________

You stared at the piece of paper for the whole ride to the hotel. Your driver had to check up on you multiple times as you had not moved ever since you read the note. He asked you at least four times “Are you alright Miss?” To which you only nodded and replied with either “U-huh, yeah.” or “Everything’s good.”

You analyzed the words through the drive, rereading them a few times. After the third time, you realized that it was actually a tissue on which Harrison wrote the words. You had to give it to him how neatly he managed to write on something as fragile as a thin piece of tissue paper. Also, you weren’t sure when he had the time to write this in the first place. Was it when you were taking pictures of Tom and his younger fan? Would he have had the time to write it then? Or did he do it before?

The last idea made your stomach erupt with butterflies. If he had written the note before you met in the luggage claim, that would mean that Tom… he did actually like you, right? You reread it once again:

 **If you’re reading this, it means that poor Tom failed at asking you out himself.** So he wanted to ask you out? The idea that Tom actual Holland wanted to ask you out gave you the biggest smile ever. This wasn’t something that happened to people, especially not you. It all seemed like a dream. Too good to be true.

 **You have to excuse his incapable ass**. This sentence made you laugh every time. But it also made you think. Because, what stopped him? Was he too nervous to ask you out? If that was the case, you couldn’t believe it. Why would he be nervous because of you? You weren’t anything special. Far from it, really. To be honest, you did not see any reason for him to like you. The next sentence, however, was some kind of proof that he did.  **The point is, he really likes you.**

 **Sorry for hijacking your backpack.**  This sentence bothered you the most. Harrison took your backpack and replaced it with his own. It was a cute idea, you had to admit, but also extremely unpractical. Yes, you had found the note by pure chance, but what if you hadn’t? You just as well could have never looked in the backpack and the written on tissue would have stayed there. Unless of course, it wasn’t pure chance. Harrison may have left the pocket in which the paper was left in, open on purpose. He was a smart guy.

Smart, but not a genius. Because now you were left with exactly nothing. No charger, no wallet, no ID. It was freaking you out too a bit. The next line was making your anxiety only a bit better. **You’ll get it back if you call him.** Not as easily done as said. You couldn’t just casually call him, could you?  The idea alone was crazy…And what if you did manage to find the courage to call Tom? What were you supposed to say? You had no idea if Tom even knew what his friend had been up to.  Was he fine with you having his number? Who could tell? Definitely not you.

 **I hope you can forgive me after your date. H.**  Did this mean that if you called, Tom would happily go on a date with you? Was it a given?  _It definitely shouldn’t be this complicated_

“Here we are, miss.”  The chauffeur stopped the car. You looked up from the paper. He was turned around in his seat, smiling kindly.

“Oh, right. Thank you. How much-” Your hand went up to reach your/Harrison’s backpack before you realized that that was completely useless. Unless you could pay with the credit card you had in your phone, you had no means with which you could pay him.

“Oh, no, miss. Everything has already been paid for by your company.” The man explained and you sighed in relief.

“Right, of course. Well, thank you again.” You wanted to open the door to get out, but the man was already ahead of you. He jumped out of the car and ran out to open it himself. You thanked him again as you got out, almost forgetting the backpack. You gripped it tightly as you watched the driver get your suitcase out of the boot. If anything happened to the bag, you didn’t know what to do. How would you explain it to Harrison?  Would you even have a chance to do so?

The driver gave you your suitcase and you thanked him one more time. With a tip of the hat, he smiled and got back into the car, ready to drive off to his next customer. With a rumble of the engine, you were left alone at the steps of the building in which you would be staying at for the next two weeks. You turned to face the big beautiful building. You couldn’t remember the name but it was probably something fancy.  _French_ , presumably. I was one of those hotels that you would have never stayed in, even in your wildest dreams, if it wasn’t for your job.

You were ready to walk inside, pulling your suitcase next to you, the backpack still in your tight grip. A man standing inside next to the impressively decorated door stopped you.

“Would you like me to take that, miss?” He smiled. You thanked him for the offer but declined. You didn’t even have a room yet. The front desk of the hotel was on the opposite side of the hall. You took your time to get there, taking everything in. It was truly breathtaking. From the details in the walls to the furniture. You had a feeling that a lightbulb in one of the chandeliers was already as expensive as your car and flat put together.

“Welcome to  _Hotel Elysee._  How may I help you?” The lady behind the desk asked sweetly. There was a wide smile on her face, showing off her perfect teeth.

“Uhm, hi.” You responded with a smile too, not as big as hers though, “I would like to check in.”

“Of course, name?” Your supervisor had said that you were supposed to give the company’s name for check-in, so that is exactly what you did. The lady ticked in a few things on her keyboard, her eyes not leaving the screen of her computer once. You always admired that in people, yourself being an extremely slow typer.

“Ah yes, here it is. One room for two weeks, yes?” You nodded in agreement. “And the stay is already paid for, so I assume all you need is your room number and key.” Her eyes scrolled down the screen, in search for your room. Her smile widened even more once she had found it. She excused herself for a moment to reach behind her, where a whole wall of keys was hanging. You appreciated the old-school approach that the hotel was taking.

“Alright, miss here is your key. You will be staying in the Vladimir Horowitz presidential suite.” You must have misheard her. The  _presidential suite?_  What was going on today?  

Still a bit shocked at the news of your accommodation, you blankly took the key from her. She rang a bell and almost immediately a bellboy came walking up with one of those trolley carts that you had only ever really seen on the  _Suite Life_. Thinking of the show, you couldn’t help but think how the boy reminded you of Esteban in some weird way. Oh wow, first meeting your celebrity crush and now this…Your childhood fantasies were really coming true today.

________________________________________

Tom followed Harrison into the hotel. They hadn’t spoken about (Y/N) or about Harrison’s genius plan anymore. Yet, there was still that kind of tension between them. Tom felt a bit bad. He didn’t want to be angry at his best friend. He knew Haz did it with only good intentions and he appreciated it too. He wished he could have just broken out through the nerves and ask (Y/N) for her number himself. Of course, after all the drama that he pulled off back in the car, there was no way that he could admit it now. Harrison would never let him forget it.

“Do you think they are compensating for anything?” Harrison joked as they stepped inside, whispering so nobody around would hear him. He had also slowed down his step so they were walking next to each other. Tom tried to hold in a chuckle. It resulted in his laugh coming out more like a snort that could be confused with someone clearing their throat after a bad cough.

Harrison definitely had a point. The lobby of the hotel looked impressive. Out of the hundreds of hotels in which he got to stay at, this was definitely one of the better ones. With the high ceilings, expensive art hanging everywhere and the shining chandeliers, Tom wondered what their budget skipped on instead.

“As long as the bed is proper, you won’t see me complaining.” Tom shrugged. Harrison agreed with his point. They continued walking, too tired from their flight to see the glances the other guests were giving them and their luggage.  _That suitcase would be the end of him._

“Ah, Mr. Holland. We’ve been expecting you.” A woman walked up to them. She was wearing the hotel uniform so Tom felt safe to assume she worked there. She was also holding a clipboard and that was always a good sign. “I speak for all the employees when I welcome you in our Hotel. We are all big fans of your movies.” Her smile was wide and almost too sweet. It made Tom’s stomach turn. He (and Harrison) was caught off guard by her appearance in front of them. Tom just smiled awkwardly. His lips pursed tightly, but subtly.

“Thank you, how-how did you know that we were here?”

“Just a few minutes ago, we got a call from your manager, I assume. I was told to be on the lookout for a- well.” Her eyes glanced down at his suitcase. When they came back up to meet his, she was smiling again. “Your room is ready if you will follow me.”

Harrison gave Tom an uncertain look and Tom responded with the same. This definitely was an unusual greeting.  But how strange this all may be, the two men were tired. On the verge of exhaustion, really. They decided to follow the hotel manager… or whatever her job title was. Before they started walking, though, she clicked her fingers and two bellhops emerged out of nowhere. They took their bags. Tom saw out of the corner of his eye that Harrison gave one of them (Y/N)’s bag. A sudden urge pulled at his guts. He didn’t want some stranger to touch her stuff. It was already bad enough that they had it in the first place.

“Sorry,” he ticked the bellhop’s shoulder, who turned around with wide eyes, “Can I have that back?”

“Of course, sir.” the boy’s hand was shaking as he handed back the black backpack.

“Thanks, mate.” Tom swung it over his shoulder and walked towards the lift. Tom was immediately glad he decided to relieve the boy of the bag because apparently, employees weren’t meant to use the same lift as the guests or, at least, not with them.

“Here we are,” the lady with the clipboard walked up to a door, ticking her pen on the wood panel with the fancy golden plate on it. The two bellhops were already waiting next to it with their luggage. She used the key to open it then stepped aside to let Tom and Harrison in. The bellhops followed them, put their luggage down next to the sofa and left the room again before Tom could give a tip or even thank them.

“Well, the King Suite includes two bedrooms, just as requested, two dressing rooms, two bathrooms, a living- and dining area. The phone connects to housekeeping, valet, concierge and in-room dining. Everything is included in the price of the room.” Her smile got wider with every word and Tom felt himself move away from her until his legs hit a table. “I wish the two of you a pleasant stay.”

“Thanks,” Tom said, Harrison was half a beat late but had said the exact same word, in the exact same uncomfortable manner. The woman didn’t seem to notice their unease. “If there is any trouble or question, please call.” She walked back to the open door. Harrison jogged over, probably to make sure she actually left.

“Yes, certainly will…” he closed the door behind her, “Not!” He turned around to face Tom. “Mate did she also kinda freak you out”

“Oh yeah, definitely, but look at this place!” He looked around for the first time. Tom enjoyed new hotel rooms. He had probably lived in more than a hundred, but the excitement never left. Of course, what was better than the rooms, were the various cities the hotels were located in. but with his busy schedule and the general fear for safety concerning crazy fans and paparazzi, Tom hardly ever got out. So the hotels were a good second place.

His thoughts were abruptly stopped, when Harrison ran by him, towards a door on their left. Disappearing behind the walls separating the two, Haz yelled out: “Shotgun on the master bedroom!” He shut the door behind him. Tom rolled his eyes and replied, also shouting so his friend could hear him through the thick walls: “How old are you again?” the door of the room opened again and Harrison blond quiff popped out, followed by the rest of him.

“You’re just bitter because I got the room.”

“Are you ser-” Tom rolled his eyes again, getting a look at the window and the view. He widened his eyes. “Holy shit, there are people having an orgy in that building!”  He blurted out between laughs of disbelief. Shocked and intrigued, Harrison walked over to Tom to look out the window. Tom took his chance and slipped by his friend, grabbed his suitcase and sprinted for his life to the room Harrison had just walked out of. Harrison only realized what happened when the door banged against the frame.

Tom locked the door and fell down on the bed. It was so soft that he practically disappeared into it. A loud banging came from the other side. “Tom! You twat! That’s my room!”

“Sorry, bro! Too late now! It’s mine!” There was one last bang, It sounded heavier than the previous ones. Tom assumed it was Harrison’s head that hit the door in surrender. Very satisfied now, Tom got up and pulled the suitcase up to his legs so he could start unpacking.

When Tom came back to the living room area - having unpacked all his things in case Harrison tried to get back the room - he stood shocked in his place. “Where did you get that book from?” He asked his best friend. Harrison turned around, having his back towards Tom just moments before. In the blond’s hands was indeed a book. A book that Tom definitely had never seen before. He walked up to Harrison. He had been sitting on the couch, his legs stretched in front of him. The mysterious book in his hands and (Y/N)’s backpack lying next to him. Tom took a moment to look at the scene in front of him.

“Mate,” he said in disbelief, “do not tell me you went through her stuff.”

“I wasn’t going through her stuff.” Harrison pleaded, but Tom ran up to him and practically ripped the pages out of Haz’s hands. Harrison didn’t even have the time to blink. “Are you thick?”

“What?” Harrison surprisingly chuckled, “Don’t try and tell me you’re not curious.”

“You’re mad. Would you like someone to go through your stuff?” Tom couldn’t believe he was having this conversation with an adult. Yeah, Harrison may always have something childish about him but this… Harrison casually leaned back and put his hands behind his head. Clearly not bothered by it all. “Calm down, mate. I accidentally opened it. Out of habit to get my own backpack, you know. I didn’t go through her stuff.” Tom wasn’t sure about that.

“Fine, but do you see that this was a horrible idea,” Tom said, referring to the whole situation that Haz had put them in, and sat down in a chair, his body sinking into the white pleather. He still had the book in his grip.

“Yes, I do. Happy now?” Tom just smirked, satisfied that his best friend realized his mistake. Harrison glanced at him and started giggling under his breath. Tom quirked an eyebrow: “What’s funny?”

“Not much. It just that… she has good taste in books.”  This made Tom take a proper look at the book. He hadn’t been bothered at first. He had the book backward and upside down, so he turned it around. He immediately recognized the cover. The big red stripe cutting through the black letters of the title.  _The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness_. A bright smile appeared on his face. Feeling that Harrison was looking at him, he tried to make it a bit more casual.

Still, with the words from before in his mind, he hesitantly opened the book. He really didn’t want to pry. He didn’t. But he was just curious at what part of the book she was in. He spread the pages where a bookmark was sticking out from. Again, he smiled when he saw what it was. It was a Polaroid picture. Of (Y/N) and another girl, he assumed it was her friend. It wasn’t very visible, but from the shapes, he could make out the big castle in Disneyland. The two girls were both wearing Mickey ears. (Y/N)’s in particular, were interesting. They were Spider-Man themed. On the corner of the polaroid, she had written down a date. It was a month before he himself was in Disneyland. If the park had them, he most definitely would have got a pair. Did she-

“Mate, I’m spent.” Harrison got up and yawned. Tom just nodded, not really interested in his friends sleeping pattern. He heard Haz’ footsteps, but they weren’t going in the direction of the second bedroom.

“You sure you got the right direction there, Harrison?” Tom looked up from the small picture in his hand. Harrison cursed out loud. “You know what, sod off. I claimed that room.” But in the end, taking his luggage with him, he did go back to his own room.

Tom was now alone in the big hotel room. He didn’t know what to do now. Not exactly tired, but also not in the mood for anything particularly active. Maybe he could read some? He put back the bookmark and opened the book on the first page. Right under the title, there was a black stamp. It consisted of (Y/N)’s name in particularly cursive and curly letters, and a quill. Tom didn’t know people used Ex Libris anymore. He remembered his dad using a little stamp like that when he was a kid, but nobody else as far as he knew.

Tom remembered that their room was supposed to have a balcony, so that is where he decided to continue reading his book. It was strange, just from one simple object, he felt like he got to know her a little bit better. Now, he was definitely glad that Harrison gave her his number because he couldn’t wait to see her again. That is if she actually called.

________________________________________

When you had reached your room, the boy asked for your key which you gladly gave to him, ready to get into your  _suite_  and just fall down on the bed. He unlocked the door moving to the side to let you in. You thanked him with a smile and walked inside. You were immediately overwhelmed by everything you saw. The view from the window, the furniture, the art… not to mention the baby grand piano!

“You can find the bathroom to the left. There is a fully equipped kitchen on the right. You will also find a television, complimentary wireless internet access and individual temperature controls. If there are any problems, the front desk is always open and it is on speed dial on both phones in case a call is needed, so is the room service, of course.” You turned around to listen to the boy. As he spoke you found the nametag on his chest. In small golden cursive, you could see the name “James” reflect in the sunlight. As he finished speaking, he had a tight smile, his posture was straight with his hands behind his back. Your heart broke as you knew what had to come next. Before that, though, he added: “Well, If there is anything I can help you with-”

“Actually, there is,” you remembered. “Can you tell me where I could buy a phone charger around here?”

“Of course.”  he smiled, happy to be of help. “There is an AT&T store at the end of the block.”

“Thank you so much.” You watched him stand there, full of excitement that he did his job correctly. He must be a bit younger than you, probably still in college. The more you thought about it, the worse you felt. “James, I am so sorry, but I don’t have any cash on me.” you put down the backpack on the small table next to you. James’ shoulders lowered, but before he spoke, he tightened up again. “That is quite alright miss. I understand.”

“It really isn’t. My wallet was, I guess you could say, stolen.”  

“Have you reported it to the police, ma’am?” He tried not to show his emotions, but his brows furrowed slightly.

“Oh no, it’s a bit more complicated than that. It wasn’t really stolen, more like switched- Sorry, don’t know why I’m telling you all of this.” A nervous laugh escaped your lips. James chuckled alongside.

“Well, if that will be all…” It wasn’t exactly a question, but neither a clear statement.

“Yes, thank you,” you said. Still, with his arms behind his back, he nodded and turned around to leave. You watched him walk away, not exactly sure if you were supposed to walk with him to the door. He left the room without another word, leaving you all by yourself. Just the way you wanted to be.

The first few minutes you spend taking a proper look at your suite. The room wasn’t extraordinarily big. The light walls and expert placement of all the furniture, however, still gave off a spacious look. You walked around, your hand gliding over the table and sofa as you passed it. Everything matched perfectly to the overall aesthetic that the hotel had going on. The soft tones of browns and golds giving this royally feel to it.

You couldn’t believe what a day it had been. First, you meet your celebrity crush. His best friend gives you his phone number (and switched your bag for his own, mind him) and now you get to live for two weeks in this amazing suite! Your brain couldn’t comprehend it just yet. It all just seemed like a farfetched dream. Why was this happening to you? What did you do to deserve this? It had already been strange enough when your supervisor had requested you, out of all the people in the office, to be sent over to the other side of the world for an important business meeting with several of the biggest clients. The meetings itself were only supposed to be two or three days “but just in case” they had given you two full weeks. And they paid for the hotel! Who ever did that for their employees?

Not having much else to view in the room itself, you decided to head out to the terrace, which you apparently also had. The entrance was in the bedroom part of the suite. A double glass door leading out to a little private roof garden with a table and chairs. The terrace looked out on the busy 54th Street. The glass and steel jungle of skyscrapers surrounded you. On the ground, hundreds of cars and people were going down the street.

You sat down at the wooden table. Enjoying the surprising silence. You couldn’t even hear the cars that were down there. Seeing you weren’t that high up, it wasn’t clear to you how the silence prevailed. Now that you were situated in your suite, able to relax after everything that happened, you took out your phone. But you didn’t turn it on. Just put it on the table. It felt like it was mocking you. What were you supposed to do now?  You could call Tom. Just ask for your bag back. Harrison would probably appreciate that too.

And you still had to call Maze. Tell her about everything that had happened. You were sure she’d die after she would hear your story. To do that you had to turn off airplane mode at least, so that’s what you did first. This at least gave you a few more seconds to decide what to do.

In the end, though, you didn’t have to decide. Your phone did that for you quite easily actually. The moment you turned on your phone, a notification popped up that you only had 3% battery left. A groan left your lips and your face fell into your hands. With only three percent you would barely make it through a minute of your conversation, with whoever you decided to talk to.

You turned the phone back off. You had to get a charger first, then you would call Maze. Yes! Maybe then she could help you figure out what to do with Tom.

You got up from the surprisingly comfortable chair, just to be met with a pair of brown eyes. You have to control yourself not to scream. Right there, on the balcony next to yours, there he stood. A beautiful hawk was standing on the wall of the other room. When it saw you, it spread its wings, making you step back. Scared that it would attack you. With a  _swoosh_  of the wings, it walked of the edge and flew away. You followed it with your eyes as it disappeared in the blue sky.  _This really was the Suite Life_.

________________________________________

“She hasn’t called yet?” Harrison seemed surprised. Tom put a finger between the pages he was on and closed the book. He looked at his friend. Harrison had changed from his traveling outfit to a pair of sweatpants, not bothering to put on a shirt. His hair disheveled from the probable tossing and turning in his bed.

He walked up to Tom and sat down on the couch next to him, making Tom thus pull his feet off the furniture and sit up straight. He had changed his reading location rather quickly. He had soon realized that reading wasn’t easy when there was a busy street underneath you. He couldn’t concentrate on the words, which made him repeat most of the pages multiple times. Not to mention, the gigantic bird that flew above his head definitely made his heart stop for a minute. After that, he had decided it was time to get back inside.

“No, she didn’t,” Tom said. Harrison’s eyes screamed confusion. “No big deal, right?” he tried to play it off cool but internally, Tom was freaking out. What if she didn’t want to go out with him? She may be a fan though that could be all she was. Just a fan. Now that he thought of it, she wasn’t even that keen on taking a picture. That could, of course, be because she was nervous.  _But if she didn’t want to take a picture, then forget the date._

“No big deal for you maybe. She has my stuff.” Harrison had finally realized what he had done. Tom was glad. The panic in his friend’s eyes was both sad and entertaining at the same time.

“That’s your own fault, innit?” Tom chuckled, opening the book again, just for it to be taken away from him by Harrison. He gave Haz a glare. “Mate, there is nothing I can do. She’s the one with all the chances.”

“How are you not freaking out? You are in love with her and she’s not even calling!”

“First of all,” he grabbed the book back, “I am not in love with her. It could be a crush, but that’s all it is.”  _for now,_  he added in his mind. “And of course I am a bit disappointed she hasn’t called. But I shouldn’t expect her to drop everything to call me, should I? She has her own life, you know. She may be busy, or just too tired.” This was more to put himself to rest than Harrison. He wanted this to be true. He didn’t want it to turn out she wasn’t interested. He begged the universe it wasn’t that.

“You’re pathetic.” Harrison scoffed. Tom had opened the book already and continued to read. At Harrison’s words, he smirked: “Says the guy who is crying over his backpack that he  _deliberately_ gave away.” Harrison didn’t respond, not expecting a come back like that from Tom.

“Fair enough.” Harrison sighed deeply. His shoulders slacked as he leaned back into the sofa. “Do we have any plans for tonight?” Tom’s first thought was,  _(Y/N). Wait for (Y/N) to call you._  But this felt a bit too desperate to actually say out loud. Shaking the idea out of his brain, he mumbled, his eyes still glued to the page: “No, don’t think so. I think I might go for a walk.”

“Alone? Out there?”

“Yeah? Just a quick one, to stretch the legs.”

“Whatever. Just don’t die. Then we’ll both be out of jobs.” They both laughed a bit at the idiotic comment Harrison made. Tom’s a bit more nervous than he would normally laugh. Because, in the back of his mind, he could only think about (Y/N). Her beautiful smile a recurring picture in his memory. He glanced at his phone, which lay motionless next to him. No notifications. No missed calls. Nothing.

________________________________________

You walked out of the store satisfied. The phone charger in the small bag you had brought with you just in case. You hadn’t actually thought you would need it… but you were still glad that you took it.

Unfortunately, the satisfaction vanished the moment raindrops started to fall on your head. You looked up. The blue sky from before had changed into a cold grey space. The fuzzy blanket of clouds covered the afternoon sun. You decided to speed up your walk, hoping to catch less of the rainfall that way. This didn’t work. The quicker your step got, the quicker the rain fell on top of you. It all felt like one big cruel joke to you. You hair started to stick to your face.

You were so happy to see the little entrance roof of the hotel, that kept repeating the name:  _Hotel Elysee_. The short text varied itself in gold and warm brown. You jogged the last few steps.

Not really thinking much about it, you went up to the elevators and were in mere seconds in front of your room again. You barely remembered walking in the hallway, your mind too consumed by what will happen once you are inside.

You had to charge your phone and then make a few calls.

You took of your wet jacket and shoes, then sat down on the bed. Lying with your head on the pillows, you unpacked the brand new charger and stuck it into the outlet. You connected the other end to your phone and were more than delighted to see that it worked.

To give it a little time to charge up, you decided to check out the rest of the suite. First was the bedroom. Even though it was the room you were in right now and you had seen a bit of it when you to the terrace, you didn’t see much. Now you wanted to get a proper look. After that, you went to check out the other rooms.

You weren’t sure how long you took to look around but when you went back to your phone and turned it on, you saw that it was already on around 30%. This definitely put a smile on your face. Still having connected it to the chord, you pressed the call button under Maze’s number. The phone rang twice before she picked up.

“Finally! Where the fuck were you? I was getting worried sick!” her voice sounded a bit squeaky.

“I’m sorry, my phone died so I had to get a new charger.”

“Do not tell me you forgot to pack your charger. (Y/N)!”

“No, I did,, I just don’t have my backpack anymore.” you fell back into your previous position, with your head on the pillow. With your legs crossed over one another, you twirled the chord of the charger around your finger as if you were Molly Ringwald in any 80’s rom-com.

“Wait, what? What happened to your backpack? Did you get robbed?”

“Not exactly,” you bit your lip. “It got, switched.”

“Switched? How? With who?” You didn’t know how to tell your friend everything that had happened today.

“Well, you know what I texted you before I took off?”

“Yeah…” her word faded as she clearly started to remember, “Oh my freaking god! Tom and Harrison were on your flight! Did you talk to them? Please tell me you did.” she was saying it, almost pleading, through gritted teeth. With the biggest smile on your face, you told her everything. How the purser took your backpack and placed it right above Tom’s seat. How you had accidentally woken him up while trying to get the backpack. How he helped you get it and you had definitely caught him staring after you had walked away.

“Omg girl, I can’t believe it. You are living the fantasy right now. What the hell.”

“It gets better,” you smirked. There was a sharp scream from the other end of the line: “bitch, you are killing me right now. How can this get any better.”

“I bumped into them again at the baggage claim.” There was a sound that was familiar to a moan, a groan, and a squeal.

“You bumped into them?”

“Well, more like, Harrison ran after me and made me stop.” You smiled, thinking about that moment, “they thought I was going off with their suitcase because guess what? Tom has the same suitcase as me.” The story continued with you telling Maze how you talked for a while with the two of them, how you gave the boy Luke an opportunity to get a picture with his hero and finally that you got a few pictures yourself.

“Okay okay, before I go die, just tell me what happened to your backpack.” Maze was doing her best to control herself from screaming more.

“I’m getting to it. So, I say goodbye to them, Harrison gives me my luggage back because he had taken it out of shot so the pictures would look good.” Maze aaawe’d. “And I went to find my driver. In the car, I wanted to grab something from my backpack, but it’s not my backpack at all.” There was a moment of silence after you finished speaking. Then, Maze gasped.

“No!”

“Yes!” you were giggling like an idiot.

“NO!”

“YES!”

“You can not tell me that you have Harrison Osterfield’s backpack.“

“I can because I do.” you glanced at the backpack, that was lying in the chair next to your bed.

“Does he know you have it? Won’t you get into trouble?” you laughed and told her that won’t be a problem. “How are you so sure.”

“Because he was the one that switched out bags, and besides, he left a note.” What followed next was maze screaming for a whole good minute. Once she calmed down you recited what was on that note, as you knew it pretty much by heart because of all the times you read it in the car.

“Girl, please tell me you called him.”

“I haven’t,” you admitted. Maze groaned irritated.

“I swear to god, (Y/NickN), if I was there I would slap you. This is Tom Holland. Don’t be an idiot and call him.”

“It’s not as simple Maze, What if he doesn’t actually like me?  This could all be one big misunderstanding from Harrison’s side.”

“Then at least call to get your bag back.” that was a good point.

“I don’t know if I can do it.” your heart was beating faster and faster the more you thought about it.

“Should I call him for you? God, you’re so sad.” You responded with a loud: “Hey!” Maze laughed and asked you to give her his number. You hesitated but in the end, opened your mouth to give the digits, but no sound came.

“I- ’m completely blanking on the number.” Maze suggested the note, but you couldn’t find it anywhere. You tried to look everywhere where you had been or possibly could have dropped the piece of paper anywhere. Defeated, almost in tears while your heart was breaking just a little bit, you put the phone back up to your face. “I can’t find his number.”

________________________________________

“Okay, I’m gonna go.” Tom put down the book on the coffee table. Harrison wasn’t listening, being momentarily too captivated by the tv. Tom clicked his fingers in front of Harrison’s face. The blond blinked a few times surprised.

“What?” he said, turning his attention to Tom finally.

“I said, I’m gonna go.” he was already getting up. Harrison took the chance to throw his legs on the couch make himself as comfortable as he could. “What time is it,” he asked. Tom pulled out the phone from his pocket and said the time: “2:52 pm”.

“Aight, see you later.” Haz waved him off, already not paying attention.

“See ya, you div.” And so Tom walked out of their suite. Following the big hallway, hoping it would make him forget, at least for a while, about the thing he was longing for.

________________________________________

“You know what you need?” Maze asked after getting you to calm down finally. “You need a drink. What time is it?” You looked at the clock on the bedside table.

“Around 3pm.”

“Perfect! Go down to the bar and get yourself a nice cocktail or something. You need some juice in you.”

“You think so,” You raised an eyebrow at your friend, even though she couldn’t even see it.

“Oh, I know so. You need to relax.” So that is what you did. You talked a bit more to your best friend before hanging up and getting off the bed. It was so comfortable that you thought of not going. Maze didn’t know what you were doing. You could just tell her that had been downstairs and drank something, while in fact, you would just take a nice nap. Yes, a nap sounded good.

Although, what else sounded good was a drink. You definitely wanted one now after Maze spoke so fondly of. You did need to relax. You needed something to help forget the anxiety you felt. Or maybe it would help you remember something that you forgot. If only that would be the case with alcohol.

Still wanting that drink, you walked out of your suite once again. Not much later, you found yourself in the bar. You sat down at the bar. A friendly looking bartender walked up to you not even five seconds later.

“What can I get you?” He wiped the glass table between you before placing a small napkin in front.

“A daiquiri, thank you.” you sighed out, very conscious of the state you were in. Your hair soaked from the rain and your face flushed from the cold. You saw the look the bartender gave you, but he kept on smiling politely. While starting on the drink, in an old-fashioned way, he asked: “Rough day?” You smiled to yourself.

“Actually, no. Eventful, definitely, but not rough.” A few moments later, the neat drink was placed in front of you. You thanked him and took a sip. The alcohol flushing your nerves away. Behind you the footsteps of other hotel guests walking to drink their problems away just like you were.

________________________________________

Tom was about to step outside the Hotel when he heard the rumble of thunder. A few people passed the door to the hotel, all running away from the horrible weather that was about to ensue. Maybe he should keep that walk for later. A bit disappointed he turned back around. Ready to return to his room.

While his head said “bed”, his legs pulled him in the direction of the hotel bar. This large room was not as brightly lit as the lounge or the administration desk. It was partially dark. Only proper lights above the tables where small chandeliers were hanging. The bar was properly lit, showcasing the rich variety of liquors and spirits.

There were a few people inside. Most of them separated in the booths on the side of the chamber. There was only one chair taken at the elongated service table. A bit off center. It was occupied by a woman who was talking to the bartender. Tom had to take a double take. A smile crept up to the corners of his mouth as his eyes widened in disbelief. It couldn’t be her. No. Not here. But could it? He looked at her again. He could only see her back, but from the way her hair fell down her back, her posture straight, but not exactly confident.

He was about to open his mouth, ready to call out her name, when a man appeared out of nowhere. He was holding an umbrella where water was falling off of onto the ground.

“Ah, Mary! Darling!” the woman turned around. Tom felt his whole body scrunch up. Was it from… Disappointment? Sadness? Shock? Embarrassment? Whatever it was, it was stupid. He should have known it wasn’t (Y/N). Now that he saw the woman walk up to her husband, he could see clearly that she looked nothing like (Y/N). He was being ridiculous. His tired mind was playing tricks on him.

He watched the pair walk away and then made his way over to the bar. Taking a seat where the bartender was cleaning.

“Good evening, Mr. Holland.” Of course, she knew who he was. “Welcome to Hotel Baccarat. What may I serve you?”


	3. The One on the Street

You were running down the street, your heels making it ridiculously hard not to fall on the pavement. The people around you gave you a few strange looks but you had to ignore it. There was no time for snarky comments.  _Just run and get to the meeting already._

You couldn’t believe it. The first day of the most important meeting your company had, and you were running late. Your bed, of course, had to be so comfortable. You didn’t even hear the alarm that was ringing continuously next to you. Your body had blocked it out completely, far into the sleep it was craving.

You turned a corner and almost fell to the ground, ready to burst out in tears. The street you had to walk through, the shortest way to get to the building you need to be in… In 3 minutes, was completely blocked. People were standing everywhere. There was no way you could get through the crowd. You looked around, to see a spot where the count of bodies was a little scarce. With an exhale of relief you crossed the street, almost getting run over by a motorcycle. After four days you still had not gotten used to the New York style of living. Everything was so upbeat. As if everybody had drunk one coffee too much at breakfast.

Like you had predicted, there were fewer people standing on the other side of the street. Already seeing the entrance to the building you needed to get to, you slowed down. Trying to calm yourself before the meeting and to get a grip over yourself. After running all the way from the subway station, you must look like a mess.

You straightened your jacket, ready to walk inside when there was a shout above the crowd and it all turned very quiet. “AND ACTION!” the voice was most likely amplified with a megaphone connected to speakers all around the street because you heard the echoes.  _Action_ , so there was a movie being recorded.

You glanced between the silvery door and the crowd of people. You had maybe two minutes left, probably less, before you had to be there. The group of men and women moved. Giving you a small peak at what was being filmed. But you didn’t even need to have a look at the ground, because the real action was happening in the air.

You gasped. This could not be happening. Not right now. No. This was not supposed to happen like that. You had wished for seeing Tom again, but not when you had to leave after five seconds. This was not supposed to happen like that. Cursing yourself and everybody you knew, you watched in amazement how Tom flew around in the sky. Only a small harness around his waist holding him. Holding  _onto him_  was the one and only Zendaya. Clutching herself around his neck, her legs wrapped around his.

The sight of the model holding Tom like that, made your stomach twist and your heart burn. Why was this happening right now? Why did it have to happen to you? The jealousy in the pit of your stomach was boiling. It hurt too much, you couldn’t look at him anymore.

Turning around and walking on, you thought about the stupid note. The stupid note that stupid you just had to lose. Ever since then you tried to remember the series of numbers that would get you, not only your backpack but hopefully another chance to see Tom. After two days you had given up. Feeling defeated. You had to learn to live with the fact that your one chance was gone. You messed up, big time. Even if somehow you managed to get the number, the chance that Tom would remember you and still want to go out on a date was microscopic. Even smaller than that.

You almost walked into the glass door of the building. Behind you, some gasps as people pushed themselves forward to the center, where all the cameras were. Tom and Zendaya had disappeared from your view.  You sighed and pushed the door open. You had to get it together already. It was over and done with. You screwed up now deal with it. Tom wasn’t here and there was nothing you could do about it.

 _But wait_. You stopped in the middle of the hall. A woman behind you bumped into you. She walked by, murmuring something rude. You didn’t pay attention to that though, your mind still occupied by the thought that made you stop in the first place.

Who said that was actually Tom up there? It was probably a stunt-double wearing the suit. There was no way that they would let Tom hang around in the air like that… Then again, they let Zendaya…

________________________________________

Tom had almost missed her. He almost didn’t recognize her with her hair in a bun, not framing her face so perfectly. Besides, there were hundreds of people around him. Their faces all mixing into a blur. 

But he did see her. It was a just a quick glance that was all he needed to confirm it. He saw her eyes, looking straight up - straight at him. From afar and in his mask he couldn’t see the expression that was currently contorting it. He wanted to go up to her so he could see it. He just wanted to see her again.

There was something else he wanted to do. Tom just wasn’t sure what that was. Did he want to kiss her? Yeah, he did. But it wouldn’t be appropriate? Wasn’t he too desperate thinking that?

“Tom,” the voice was right next to his ear. It pulled him away from his thoughts. Tom remembered that he was still hanging in the air, with Zendaya holding onto him.  _Oh shit,_  they were in the middle of a scene. He had completely forgotten. 

Tom looked down, at the small blue safety mat that probably had zero purposes because if they would fall, it would most definitely not break the fall. All the people, both crew and the curious people passing by, were staring at him. Tom had no idea what to do. What scene were they filming again? 

Then there was movement in the crowd. Someone was moving to the back, they were leaving. Tom saw it was (Y/N). She pushed through the people as if she was in a hurry. Without thinking, Tom yelled out: “No!” It was loud but most of the clarity of the word was soaked up by his mask. 

The sudden scream scared Z so much she almost let go of him. Tom could feel her body tighten around his. There was a cloud of loud murmurs beneath them. Then the safety ropes onto which they were connected were dropped and Tom’s feet hit the ground. 

His first instinct was to run to her. Through the crowd, where ever it was that she was going. Only, there were so many problems with that idea. Firstly, the people. He would never be able to get through the wall of bodies safely. Secondly was his own situation. His suit was still connected to the harness. Tom wouldn’t even be able to walk 4 feet in any direction without being shot back into place. Thirdly, and probably most importantly, he had lost her. While he was being lowered to the ground, she had left, never to be seen again. He mumbled under his breath. A group of concerned crew members surrounded him, making it now completely impossible to ever look for her.

“Tom! Everything alright boy!” Jon asked. Tom saw someone from the medical team behind the director. He heard a click behind him, announcing that his body was free from the safety restraints.

“Yeah I’m - I’m fine. Got a bit dizzy out there. Can we take a break? Just 5 minutes.” Without waiting for a response he walked away, his eyes on the lookout for the head of blond hair. He had to find Harrison! 

He heard him before he saw him. Only at the door of his trailer. Harrison walked up to Tom from behind. “What the hell was that?” Tom didn’t say anything or turn around until he was inside the trailer. He had heard that his friend was following him inside and that he had closed the door. 

“Mate! What’s wrong with you? And take that blooming thing off, I can’t take you seriously when you wear that.” Oh yeah, he was still wearing the spider-man suit, including the mask. Tom pulled it off, taking a deep inhale when his face met the fresh air. 

“I saw her.” He said a bit breathlessly. Harrison’s eyes widened. It was a show of understanding confusion. 

“Who?  _Her?_  As in, (Y/N)?” Tom ruffled his hair nervously. Now that he had said it out loud and heard it from Harrison’s lips, the words sounded absurd. It couldn’t be her. He was up in the air, adrenaline, and caffeine pumping through him. He had been simply imagining it. Yeah, that was it. He was freaking out about nothing. 

“I-I think so.” He sat down on the couch. Harrison was following him with his eyes. His arms crossed. 

“You think so or you know so?” Tom let out his frustration with a groan before replying: “I don’t know.” Harrison scoffed, looking away a bit amused. 

“Mate, I really think you should let this go.” There was a little mockery detectable in his tone, but also a concern. Tom felt his shoulders tense up as he straightened his back and started to defend himself. “Let me remind you that this is all  _your_  fault. I would have been fine if it wasn’t for you and your brilliant idea. Because of you, I am now stuck in this… in this limbo and-" 

"Hey, I’m not enjoying this myself either, you know, I want my backpack back as much as you need to get some action.” Tom missed the smirk on his friends face as he was too busy throwing a pillow at him. Harrison caught it with ease and threw it back at Tom. His throw was lighter and the pillow fell perfectly in the boy’s lap. The pillow looked a bit flat. Tom picked a feather that was sticking out from somewhere. It was visible that most of the stuffing had somehow fallen out. Just like his heart, the pillow was worn-out and deflated. 

He just didn’t understand. Why hadn’t she called? It had been three days. Three days with not a single message or missed call. Not even to ask to get her bag. 

Tom had started to fear that something might have happened. That she had gotten hurt or… anything worse. He had begun to get over her. Trying to forget her… And all of the progress had been lost when he saw her face in the crowd that morning. He was back at square one and had no more lives to play with. He was done for. 

“Mate, I know it’s hard, yeah. Rejection sucks,” Tom shot a glare at Harrison. He wasn’t rejected - just… ignored. “But after three days and no call… maybe it just wasn’t meant to be?”   
________________________________________  
You stepped out of the grey conference room. Only to be met with more grey walls and depressing post-modern art hanging on them. 

The meeting was finally over. At least the first day of it. From what you sensed, it went just fine. The people liked your accent, the women liked your attitude and the creepy men liked your outfit. Never you mind the fact that you almost arrived too late. When you got into the conference room, it took at least five minutes for someone to actually walk in and welcome you to the company. 

The important part was, it was over for now. The next meeting would only take place the day after tomorrow. Someone had said that this was “to take a breather after a full day of meetings” but you knew better. It was clear that they had not prepared themselves and that tomorrow they would most likely spend figuring out the second meeting. 

The elevator opened with a  _ding_. You stepped inside and pressed the button for “ground floor”. The doors were already closing when a voice shouted: “wait! Hold the door!” Out of reflex, you pressed the button that stopped the doors from sliding shut. A man, who you assumed the voice belonged to, slid in. Glancing at his face you caught him scanning your body up and down with an ugly smirk. A cold chill went down your spine as he stood next to you. A bit too close for comfort. You wanted to step aside, but your arm was already touching the hand railing. The doors closed and you felt the elevator drop slowly, just like your stomach.

“So, you new here?” he asked. His voice was the one of a person that smoked at least a pack a day and the smell of his breath complimented that thought perfectly. 

You could feel his eyes on you, but you didn’t dare to look back. “Uhm, you could say that. Yes. I’m just here for a few meetings.” Your left hand went up to your right upper arm, trying to make the gap between you as big as possible. 

“Ah, right, I heard there was a Brit flying over. Between me and you,” he leaned in towards your ear. To you this was completely unnecessary as there was nobody there with you and from what you could see, there was no surveillance camera… just great. His words send more chills down your spine and your hands began to shake, “I expected some boring old hag, but it is a pleasure to meet a pretty little thing like you.” You didn’t know what to do but smile awkwardly. Your eyes glanced at the window on which the numbers of the floor was showing.  _8._  You were almost there. 

“You know,” there had been a little silence so the words made you look up. You regretted doing that immediately because he wasn’t even that bad looking. Even kinda cute, actually. “There are a lot of weirdos running around the city, no place for a thing like you. If you want I can show you around.”  _Weirdo’s around, huh? Tell me about it_ \- was your first response but you kept your mouth shut. You didn’t want to make him angry. Sexually frustrated men and anger were not a good combination. So, instead, you went for the second best response you could come up with: “Sorry, I have a girlfriend.” You hoped that would have been enough, it usually was, unfortunately, it only widened the man’s smile even more. 

“I’m sure she won’t mind me keeping her girl safe.” _But I will_ , you thought, though you had to bite your tongue again. There was no escape. He had cornered you, both figuratively and literally. 

Right, when all hope was lost, the ding of the elevator rang in the small space and the doors opened. The light coming from the entrance greeted you. Before he had another chance to speak, you walked out. A quick pace without looking around. Unluckily, this was not enough to shake him off of you. 

“So what do you say, babe?”  _Oh! Babe? That’s where we’re going with this. Well, fuckface,_  “sorry. I’m actually meeting up with someone.” You didn’t want to look at him. Your feet were moving quicker. You were almost at the door when he grabbed your hand. You gasped at the tight grip and now looked at him. He was smiling kindly, but his eyes shouted “bat-shit crazy”. 

He pulled you closer, so your chest bumped into his. You avoided his gaze. Looking literally anywhere except for his stinking face. The strong smell of nicotine was burning your eyes. How was this happening right now? You were standing at the entrance of one of the biggest company headquarters in New York. The reception was filled with people. Everyone could see you, couldn’t they? 

“Can you just let me go? Please.” You did your best not to start shouting. The man kept on smiling while his grip on your wrist tightened. With a low chuckle, he said “C'mon darling, just one drink with me won’t hurt anyone.” Now you were ready to spit out a response. But another voice stopped you. 

“Hey Rob, buddy. You going for those drinks with us or not?” The different male voice came directly from behind “Rob”. He turned around to look at the colleague that called him. Doing so, he let go of your wrist. This was your chance and you took it. You pushed the door open and ran outside. 

To your pleasant surprise, the crowd of people watching the movie set in front of the building was still there. You used this as an advantage. If you were quick enough, you could hide out between the people away from Rob. On the lookout, your eyes were concentrated on the entrance of the building you were in just now. You saw Rob step outside, looking around. There was definite anger in his eyes. You tried to make yourself as small as possible, letting your hair down and keeping your head low. Why did this have to happen to you?

________________________________________  
Tom was mid-filming. Just a short dialogue, nothing too exciting. It was in between takes that there was a big hassle in the audience. A few people started to complain about pushy behavior. Tom, being curious as to what was happening, looked in the direction.

For the second time that day he thought his eyes were deceiving him. He couldn’t believe it. Was it actually (Y/N)? He followed her with his eyes. She was rushing through the crowd, her hair now down, her shoulders low as was her head. From time to time Tom could see her look behind herself. He wasn’t sure what she was looking at or for, but from her body language alone, Tom assumed it wasn’t pleasant.

Then his mind started to work again. (Y/N) was right in front of him… and she was slipping away by each second. He had to do something. But what? He couldn’t leave. His heart was pumping in his throat as he tried to think clearly, still looking at her not to lose her beautiful face one again. It already happened twice. A third time would most likely be the death of him in some form or another.

Harrison was standing next to him, not paying attention to anything that was happening. Still, with his eyes on the girl, Tom anxiously slapped around with the back of his hand on Harrison’s chest and shoulder. After six or seven times Haz had enough and gripped Tom’s hand.

“What?” Harrison asked annoyed.

“She’s there!” Tom pointed with the hand that wasn’t being held in the direction where (Y/N) was walking. He didn’t know if Harrison was looking or not.

“Holy shit, that is her! What are you waiting for? GO!” Harrison started to push Tom forward, but his legs blocked him.

“I can’t go. Not in the suit. Not through the crowd.” He explained quickly. His heart was beating a billion miles per second. This was it. The longer he waited, the more time she had to slip away from his fingers.

“Okay, fuck.” Harrison let go of Tom’s wrist and basically threw it away. The last thing Tom saw from Harrison was how he threw everything he was carrying on the ground and disappeared through the crowd of screaming fans. Tom was stood left alone, right next to the catering table. Both his best friend and crush went out of eyesight.

________________________________________

Harrison sprinted up the crowd of people. He ignored the screams, the yelps, the flashes of cameras. He apologized as he kept on bumping into the strangers, but didn’t look back. He didn’t dare to. He had his eyes on (Y/N) and if he lost her now, Tom would never forgive him.

It got harder and harder for him to keep up. The crowd was getting tighter and it became a real struggle to move. Harrison kept on struggling to get past. As people kept calling his name, he did his best not to get distracted and said his “sorry”s.

Finally passing the last person, he took a moment to catch a breath. He finally had space for himself again. Nobody crushing against him. In that short moment, Harrison realized that he had lost her. His heart stopped as he looked around. _What was she wearing? What did her hair look like?_

Then he saw her. She had taken off her jacket but it was definitely her, Every second he kept standing there, she got away. Harrison started to run again. As fast as he could. (Y/N) was getting closer but further away at the same time. Groups of tourists were getting in the way as if it wasn’t difficult enough to get to her.

He was starting to get hot from all the running. _It was really time to hit the gym again._  He stopped for a second to remove the bomber he was wearing and then kept on running. In the short time that he stopped to take a breath, (Y/N) had managed to get to the end of the street. She was slipping away. Seeing no other option, Harrison shouted out above the busy street: “(Y/N)!” She stopped but only for a second. Didn’t even turn around. Her body froze and tensed up before she continued on her quick pace. She wasn’t exactly running. Though it was clear to Harrison, even from afar, that she was trying to get away from something… or someone. Was she getting away from him? From Tom?

This was not good. Harrison was not prepared for this. There was a red light and (Y/N) stopped. Every few seconds, she kept looking behind her. Yes, she was definitely on the lookout for somebody. Harrison was only a few meters away from her, so he decided to slow down. Right, when he was only a few steps behind her, the light turned green and she started jogging away. Rather impressively, Harrison had to admit, as she was still wearing her heels.

He didn’t want to run again. He hated running. But the girl gave him no choice. He gritted through and followed her. “(Y/N)!” he tried again. This only made her speed up. Harrison cursed himself and kept on moving. To be entirely honest, he was getting tired. His throat was getting drier with every deep breath he took and his chest started to sting. He had enough of it. Why was he doing this? Why was he running behind this girl that didn’t even like him? Why was he making a fool out of himself for the whole of New York City to see? Oh yeah, because of Tom.

But, not even that deep inside, Harrison knew this was all his fault. What he should have done was stop (Y/N) already at the airport and straight up give her Tom’s number. Then they would live happily ever after and Harrison would have his stuff.  _Shoulda woulda coulda, I suppose._

He was really giving up now. In his head, Harrison was already thinking of ways to tell Tom that he had never managed to catch up with her. He just had to deal with the fact that he was a horrible friend and that is that. No big deal- _ **Boom!**_

Harrison felt something bump into him. No, someone. He didn’t know how it happened. He was too consumed by his own thought to register what was happening on the street.  _Maybe that’s what happened, genius!_  The point was, one moment he was running and the next he was sitting on the ground.

“So sorry, darling, I wasn’t-”

“Get away from me!” Harrison hadn’t been looking at who he had bumped into. At the sound of her voice, his heart skipped a beat in shock. There she was, right next to him. She was gathering the things that fell out of her bag. He wanted to help her, but she stopped him: “Get. Away. From. Me. You creep! I will call the police.” she wasn’t shouting. It wasn’t necessary though, the words were still full of fury.

“Sorry, (Y/N), I-”

“Look,” she was still busy picking up her things, not even glancing up at who she was talking to, “I don’t know how you know my name, but I swear to god, if you don’t walk away, I  _will_  punch you in the face.” Harrison didn’t say another word, actually scared she would hit him. She may be small, but he was sure she could throw in a good punch if needed.  He pushed himself away from her, still sitting on the ground and watched as she herself got up and walked away. She hadn’t looked at him a single second. Before he could get up and say something, she was gone behind a corner. A large group of tourists walked by. Their camera’s all flashing in every possible direction and blinding Harrison.

“Shit.” He dusted off his trousers. He wanted to pick up his jacket, just to see it wasn’t his jacket at all! It was a navy suit blazer. One of the sleeves wet as it had fallen into a puddle. He grabbed it and cursed again. Fuck, this meant that (Y/N) had his jacket. Why was this happening to him?

Harrison was ready to go after her, in the hope he could get his jacket back, but a voice behind him stop. “It’s not worth it man.” He looked up. It was a man in a basic corporate suit. He was holding out his hand to Harrison so he took it and got up. The smell of him reminded Harrison of an old ashtray.

“What was that?” he asked the stranger. He just smirked.

“I said, she’s not worth it. Believe me, I tried.” there was something really off about this guy. Was he the one she was running away from?

“Do you know her?” Harrison asked.

“No. But I wish I did if you know what I mean.” the chuckle that he followed with was actually disgusting. Harrison knew exactly what he meant and it made him want to punch the dude in the face.

“Do  _you_  know her?”  Had he not heard what she had said to him? Maybe not. Harrison could always try his luck. Get this creep off her shoulder. Scratching his neck, he mumbled: “Uh, yeah. Not that well though. She’s the girlfriend of a friend of mine.”

“Oh right. Did you ever get in on that dyke action?” This confused Harrison. What the hell was he on about? Did he just call her a lesbian? And actually ask him, a complete stranger, if he had sex with her?

“Nah man. I’m good, don’t need to be such a perv… like others.” and before the other man had understood his words, Harrison walked away. Back to set, where he had to tell Tom what happened.

________________________________________

The day had finished early. After seeing (Y/N) for the second time that day Tom couldn’t concentrate on anything anymore. He kept forgetting his lines, his marks, kept stumbling over his own feet. His whole body was a mess and his brain was melting with every try at concentrating.

Of course, Tom’s strange behavior didn’t go unnoticed. Crew members began to give him strange looks every time he messed up. It wasn’t usual for him to have to re-do a scene. Tom was known for his one-take shots. Especially when it came to stunts. But this time… After the first ten failed takes of a stunt, Jon decided to call it for the day. It was a safer choice to delay the shooting of the scene than to possibly get the star of the movie seriously injured.

And so, this is how Tom arrives in his hotel room. Sad, tired and disappointed. Mostly in himself, of course. Disappointed that he hadn’t found the courage to ask (Y/N) out at the airport. Disappointed that he couldn’t be the one to run after her this afternoon. Disappointed that he had ruined a whole day on set because of his uncontrolled feelings. Disappointed that when he came back to the hotel, Harrison wasn’t there with some good news.

After Harrison had disappeared into the crowd of fans, Tom hadn’t heard anything from his friend for the next hour. Where the hell was he? Tom had left a note in his trailer that he was off to the hotel in case Harrison would come back to set. But Tom just hoped to see his friend sitting on the couch, watching tv. Maybe, he even wanted to see (Y/N) sitting next to him. He wanted her to jump up when he opened the door and run into his arms. He wanted to feel her fingers brush through his hair as he embraced her tightly. He wanted her to press her lips against his and never let go. To taste the sweetness of the lipgloss she was wearing. To smile into the kiss while he leads her to his bedroom. To tell Harrison to get out of the suite and get another room…  

None of that happened. When he opened the door to the shared suite, the lights were still off. Just like he had left it when they walked out in the morning. With the big curtains closed, the room was dark and cold. Tom didn’t bother to open them and let the October sun in. He didn’t feel like he deserved the warmth. He just lay down on the couch. The pleather stuck to his arm.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been lying there, his fingertips still holding on lazily to his bag that was next to him on the ground. It was even possible that he had fallen asleep. His eyes had closed while his mind was still wandering off to somewhere unsure.

Apparently, he had actually fallen asleep in the meantime, because he woke up when something brushed against his cheek. It was soft, but uneven. The touch gave him goosebumps.

“Wake up.” it was a far away whisper. Tom wasn’t sure he heard anything in the first place. The whisper changed volume. “Tom, wake up, babe.” Instead of doing as the voice said, Tom shut his eyes tighter. He didn’t want to wake up. He knew that the voice was a lie. A figment of his imagination. She wasn’t actually there. He wanted to hold on to his vague dream as long as he could. If he opened his eyes, she would be gone for good. Today was probably the last chance the universe had given him and he messed it up.

“Wake up.” her voice echoed in his mind. He didn’t know how it was possible that he could hear her say this. He hadn’t heard her say those words to him. Was it possible that he had been thinking so much of her, that his brain had made up her voice itself? Even if, it was the only thing he got, so it was good enough for him.

He rolled himself around on the couch, curling his legs up. Tom was currently in this state between sleeping and waking up. He had one leg inside the train and was still deciding if he wanted to get on board or not. Except, he didn’t have a lot of choices because the whistle was blown and the locomotive started to move. “WAKE UP!” It was an ear-splitting scream. One that made Tom grip his hair and groan in pain.

It all stopped when a pillow was thrown on his head. Without thinking he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the white material of the couch. The pillow was still lying on top of him, so before he started to turn, he picked it up and threw it on the ground. When he did finally turn on his other side, he was met with Harrison sitting opposite of him on the coffee table.

“What do you want?” Tom’s voice was hoarse. Through half-lidded eyes, he looked at his best friend. Harrison’s face was completely blank. Even if he tried, Tom couldn’t possibly read any emotion from it. Harrison didn’t answer his question, so Tom asked another one: “What time is it.” He put his feet on the floor and sat up. His back slouched as he leaned his arms on his knees.

“Around 5.” Harrison looked at the clock in the corner.  _5\. A half-hour after Tom had come back himself._

“Where the hell have you been Haz?” Tom rubbed his eyes. “You were gone for like two hours. Did you-” he didn’t want to say it. A big part of him wanted to know what happened. If Harrison had been gone for so long there was a big chance he had actually caught up to (Y/N).

But a bigger part of him didn’t want to know. Because, what if Harrison had gotten in touch with her. This gave her the opportunity to properly reject him. Maybe it was better to stay in this limbo forever. Never accepted, but never denied either.

“I did.” and just like that the limbo was over. Everything was up to Harrison’s next words.

“What did she say? Why didn’t she call?” Tom’s heart was racing. This was it. The moment he had been longing for without realizing it. All his question could be answered right now except for one: Why was he falling so hard for this girl? He barely knew her. He had only spoken to her twice. He knew basically next to nothing about her. Yet still… all he needed to know to fall in love was right there. He just didn’t know what that something was.

“I - it didn’t. It’s complicated.” Harrison said. His foot was tapping anxiously against the floor, making his whole lower body shake. Tom looked into his eyes. His brows were furrowed.

“What are you on about? You talked to her, didn’t you?”

“Not  _exactly_ …” Harrison thought for a second, searching for his next words. “She didn’t really let me talk.”

“What do you mean?” Tom was more than confused. He just wanted a simple answer to a simple question.  _Will she ever call him or not?_  “What happened?” And so he listened to Harrison as he told him the story. He listened as his friend explained that he had run at least 3 blocks before catching up with her. That they had bumped into each other and fell to the ground. Harrison told him about the way she had been walking before and how she reacted when he tried to help her.

“She was ready to beat the shit out of me.” Harrison chuckled nervously, “I have to admit, it was kinda hot.”

“But why?” Tom’s mind was on full overdrive. He went through everything Harrison has just said. From what he understood, something really serious was going on. She was clearly scared and agitated when Haz had seen her. Now he was scared.

“I don’t know but I don’t think she realized it was me.” Tom cocked an eyebrow and was about to ask why he thought so when Harrison started to answer the unasked. “She hadn’t even looked at me and when I said her name… she got really defensive. I think she thought I was somebody else.”

“Well, yeah, that’s an obvious one then.” Tom rolled his eyes. Harrison sighed before continuing his story: “So she got up and walked, ran, away basically. I didn’t follow her because, you know-”

“You didn’t want to get punched in the face, I get it.”

“ _No_ , I  _didn’t want_  to cross any more boundaries,” he said with a clenched jaw. “Seeing she was already upset.” Tom decided it was better to drop it. Biting his lip to suppress any further comments towards his friend, he listened to him talk.

“So I watch her walk away when this bloke walks over to me, right. Your basic average Joe. Too small suit, too large tie, you know. He helps me get up. His breath absolutely foul. I almost threw up on his cheap shoes.” They both stifled a laugh.

“So then he tells me _She’s not worth trouble man._ ” Tom listened anxiously. The actor in him couldn’t help but notice how flawlessly Harrison had managed to switch between accents. He knew it had been a small struggle for him before.  

“She’s not worth what?” Tom asked, already getting angry. These were just repeated words that he heard but the firepit in his stomach was boiling. Harrison raised an eyebrow. With that telling him what he meant. “Are you kidding me? He actually said that? What a dickhead.” Tom fell backward, not believing this actually happened. “Who was he?”

“Was what I asked him.” Harrison clicked his fingers. “But he didn’t know her. Though he wished,  _if you know what I mean_.”  At those words, Tom felt like he was about to throw up. The firepit in his stomach turned into a block of cement. His heart and lungs were getting squeezed tighter with every breath he took. This fucking asshole had the nerve to go out and talk about women like that. Not just any,  _(Y/N)_.

With the last remaining calmness in him, he said: “Do you think he was the one she was running away from?”

“Honestly,” Harrison’s face finally showed emotion. It was sadness, “Yeah.”

“Fucking hell. Do you think she’s okay?”

“She had managed to run 5 blocks in heels and she looked fine… And I don’t think that the guy followed her after I walked away.”

Tom had to try and stay calm. He shouldn’t freak out. She was safe. She was fine. From what Harrison told him, she could perfectly well take care of herself. Yes, she was gonna be ok. Even with those reassuring thoughts, he was still swinging his upper body back and forth while fidgeting with his fingers. His mouth was dry and he could feel his heartbeat in the back of his head. His eyes fell on the table on which Harrison was sitting. Next to his legs was a piece of dark material he didn’t recognize.

“What’s that?” He pointed at it. Harrison followed with his eyes and his reaction seemed as if he had forgotten that the object was there. “Oh, that… that is uhm,  _hehjagge_ ” he mumbled.

“What?”

“That’s her- her jacket.” Harrisons face turned pink. He was avoiding Tom’s gaze while smiling nervously.

“How the fuck- wait.” Tom thought for a second. He was pretty sure that Harrison had been wearing that ugly green bomber the whole day. Glancing around the room, he couldn’t see it anywhere. “Where’s  _your_  jacket?”

“Yeah, so. Funny story actually: She has it.”

“And how did that happen?” Tom’s hands went up to his temples. Why did it always have to be Harrison?  

“When we fell down, yeah? She was picking up her things and then apparently she just took the wrong jacket. I didn’t realize until she was gone.” He looked at Tom for a reaction. “But, just think for a moment. At least this time, it wasn’t my fault.”  

“Whatever makes you sleep at night, mate.” Tom let out an airy laugh.

“Yeah,” Harrison got up and walked over to the kitchenette, “You want a drink?” Tom replied loudly so Haz could hear from the other side of the room: “get me water, thanks!”

Harrison disappeared behind the stove wall when he got the bottle of water out of the mini fridge. When he came back up, he threw Tom the bottle, that he managed to catch just in time. The cold and wet plastic almost slipped out of his hands.

When Harrison came back and fell down on the other couch, Tom started to think. “But you were gone for two hours. Where the hell were you?”

“Took a stroll around the city. A bit of sightseeing.”

“So… you got lost.” Tom laughed.

“Fuck off.” Harrison scoffed but sighed after seeing the look Tom gave him. “Fine, yes, I did. Happy?”

“Why didn’t you call someone to pick you up?”  

“Because…” Harrison shot up from the couch, almost spilling his coke over himself. “SHIT!” He patted down his pockets in panic.

“What?”

Harrison looked up at Tom. His eyes were wide open. “I left my phone in my jacket.”


	4. The One in the Rooms

You pushed your way through the crowds of tourists. Space was getting tighter and tighter and so were your lungs. You couldn’t breathe. As your inhales became heavier, the more tears started to build up in your eyes. Where were all these people coming from? Why couldn’t they just let you pass? Couldn’t they see you were trying to get to somewhere? To get away from  _him_.

 

Finally escaping the crowds, onto a slightly less populated shopping street, your jog came to a halt. The pain in your feet, chest, and head was catching up to you. You looked back behind you one last time, before leaning against a brick wall of a shop. With one hand on your heart, you took some deep breaths to hopefully calm down. He wasn't there. You lost him. His stinking face was nowhere near yours. 

You still couldn’t believe it actually happened. You thought you were safe after you had left the building but he followed you and tried to… you couldn’t even think about it. The way he called you darling made you feel sick in your stomach. You could still hear his voice in your head. That perfect accent…

No, that disgusting pig didn’t have an accent. At least not a British one. That’s when you realized. It wasn’t Rob that had bumped into you. No, not at all. It was someone else. Someone you knew because you recognized the voice. But you didn’t know anyone in the city. Nobody except for… Tom and Harrison! You tried your best to replay the voice again. It all happened so quickly. You hadn’t even looked at the person that fell on top of you. At the moment you just wanted to get away. You tried to remember. Anything.

“Hey, looking good, sexy.” A guy cat-called while walking by with his friend. Massaging your temples and trying to think, you just replied bluntly with a: “Fuck off.” Both strangers were clearly shocked by your hard response. They quickened their step in shame and didn’t look back.

You were glad that was over. Unfortunately in the time of that small interaction, all your memory of the incident a few streets back had vanished completely. You couldn’t be sure if it was Tom or Harrison… or maybe just someone that sounded like one of them. The only thing you could do now was to go back to the hotel and take a good long nap. After all, it’s what you deserved.

 

“You’re joking me?” Tom wanted to laugh. There was no way his friend was that thick to not only lose his jacket, but also his phone. There could literally be nothing more valuable that he could have lost.

“No, I’m serious. I think I left it in my jacket.” Harrison was as pale as the couch he had been sitting on just moments ago. He was still patting down his jeans. Which was pointless because they were so tight it would have been visible if he was hiding his phone in there.

“In the jacket that (Y/N) has?” Tom asked and watched as Harrison nodded slowly. He rubbed his face with his hand before leaning his chin on it. “Shit Haz. Literally only you could get yourself into a mess like that.”

“Tell me about it.” Harrison sighed defeatedly and sat back down on the couch. He looked sad. Embarrassed to be exact. But then his eyes lit up with that spark that Tom knew so well. He knew there was nothing good about to come from his mouth. “You can call her!”

“Wha-what?” Tom blinked a few times. His mind was blanking. “What?” seemed to be the only thing he could say?

“Call her, you div. She has my phone. You have my number. Call her!” Slowly processing what was said to him, Tom shook his head. “No,” he said, “I can’t ask her out over your phone… after she had ignored me for four days.”

“I was actually hoping you would call her to get my stuff back, but I see how your brain is thinking.” Tom looked away, feeling his cheeks heat up. Of course, they had to get Harrison’s things back and give her her things. That was the priority here. “But if you don’t want to call her, fine. I will. Give me your phone.”

_______________________________________

You had reached the hotel on sore legs. The running had made all your muscles tense and your knees hurt with every step. The man at the front door greeted you as usual with the tip of the hat, but you didn’t even look up from the ground as you walked past him. You just wanted to get into your bed, fall asleep, and hopefully never wake up. Yes. That sounded perfect.

With all the remaining power you had in you, you pushed yourself to the elevator. But all the nerves in your body froze at the sight of the metal doors. A disgusting taste filled your mouth and your guts started to do front flips again. With a shaky hand, you took the last step and pressed the button to call the lift to your floor. It opened with the same  _ding_  that every other elevator doors open with. That noise that will be cursed for the rest of your life.

Your jaw unclenched when there was nobody inside. You stepped in. Not walking far back into the small compound. Always staying close to the exit doors, but also that red emergency button. The doors were closing not much later but again, someone called out: “Miss! Excuse me. Wait!” You wanted to cry. Why couldn’t you just get into an elevator alone? Out of politeness, you were about to press the button that would hold the door… but to your relief, there was no such button. You apologized to the gentleman on the other side just in time before you were enclosed in the metal box. Alone. Just how you liked it.

Finally, in your suite, you took a deep breath. Inhaling the smell of air freshener and lemon. Housekeeping had done its job. You couldn’t wait to get into the freshly made bed. The curtains were open, letting the afternoon sun into the room. The whole space had a soft yellow glow that made everything just a little bit better. You dropped down your bag and to the floor, finally took off your heels and with heavy feet made your way to the bedroom. There, the king size bed was waiting for you. The white sheets tightly made around the corners of the piece of furniture. The pillows big and fluffy. Ready for your head to hit them. That is exactly what happened.

Not even bothering to change into some more comfier clothes or pajamas, you just went straight for the bed. It took a while before you managed to pull a corner of the bedsheets out but once you did… oh boy. Your body hit the soft mattress, your head the pillows and not many moments later, your eyes were closed and you drifted off, into a dreamless sleep.

________________________________________

“I’m gonna call her.” Tom walked around the room. His phone in his hands. “I’ll just call her. No big deal. Right?” Harrison was about to open his mouth, but Tom continued talking: “No, this is ridiculous, I can’t call her. Can I?”

“Mate, just call her already!” Harrison wasn’t even looking at him. He was too occupied by the water bottle that he tried to flip. “You’ve been walking around for the last 10 minutes. I say, call her and you can always pretend like you didn’t know she had it.  _Oh (Y/N)! H-how did you, heh, how did you get Harrison’s phone?_ ” He mocked Tom’s voice. “So she will go like  _Funny story actually, blah blah blah_ , which will slide you into a conversation and then you can ask her for my stuff back and after that finally ask  _her_  out.” It sounded so simple coming from him. So straightforward. A foolproof plan. The only problem was that Tom was enough of an idiot to even ruin the simplest of plans. Including this one.

“I can’t do it.” He continued strolling from one side of the room to the other. Harrison flipped his bottle again and this time it landed perfectly on the table.  

“Look, if you’re too much of a pussy, let me do it. After all, it is my stuff.”  

“So you can mess it up like at the airport, no thanks.” Tom looked at the phone in his hands. It felt heavy. Suddenly the object vibrated and the screen lit up, making him almost drop it to the ground. At the last second, he got control over his hands and held the mobile steadily.

________________________________________

You woke up a few hours later. Probably after the best nap you had ever taken. How was this bed so comfortable, was still a mystery to you.

The first few minutes of waking up you rolled around in the sheets, embracing the cocoon you had formed for yourself. It was so warm and cozy. Your current state would have been perfect if it wasn’t for your clothes. It was too warm to be under the covers in your full-length sleeve shirt and the tight pencil skirt. Besides, the material felt too tight. The more you started to wake up the more you realized that, actually, you weren’t comfortable at all. You were quite miserable actually.

You tangled yourself out of the white material and eventually got out of bed. Your limbs still felt heavy. Although that could have been because you were still drowsy. The disorientation and struggle were real. It took you a long time to find your pajama shorts and a tank top. Of course, they were still exactly where you had left them that morning, but your still half asleep brain couldn’t comprehend that yet.

The next thing you had to do, was to get your phone. You needed to talk to someone about the events of today. You had placed the small device on the bedside table before you fell asleep and you were happy to see it was still there. You picked it up and went to search through your contacts for Maze’s number. With one more click, the phone started to ring. Not even five seconds later, she had picked up.

“Whassup fucker!” she shouted over the phone.

“Why are you on my phone?” you asked jokingly, having used this reference many times before. Maze responded rapid fire: “Fuck you, that’s why!” for the next few seconds the two of you started to laugh hysterically. Your friend caught a deep breath before continuing the conversation you had been having for the last few days. “Okay, did you call him?” You could only sigh, which was already enough of an answer for her. “So I guess not.”

“I would if I could, Maze. Believe me, if I would remember that damn number you wouldn’t be the one I was calling. No offense.”

“None taken, honey. I would do the same.” you both giggled simultaneously. “I still can’t believe Tom Holland literally slipped through your fingers like that. Just imagine, if it wasn’t for you being such a klutz, you could be having the time of your life with him right now.”

“Woah! Calm down, Maze. We have no idea what would have happened. Who knows, maybe he’s actually a complete dick and I would dump his ass after the first date.”

“Please,” she scoffed so obviously that even with only her voice, you could see her facial expressions in front of you. “We both know that’s not true. You’re just saying that to make yourself feel better for losing his number.” She was right. You had tried many things to forget and move on. Nothing worked so far.

“Fine, I was. But just because he is this perfect movie star, doesn’t mean he is actually perfect. Men are assholes and disgusting pigs.” You huffed out.

“Woah woah, where did that come from? Did something happen?” Maze’s voice switched from her usual bubbly to concerned in a nanosecond. You were sitting on your bed, legs crossed, and playing with the string of your shorts.

“There might have been an incident today with a jerk at work.” You said softly. Her voice was the opposite of that. “WHAT? Are you okay? Tell me everything… no wait, I’m gonna facetime you. Do you have ice cream in that fancy suite of yours?”

“I might still have some,” you said unsurely.

“Well, go get it. When I call you back, I want you with that ice cream, under the biggest and softest blanket you got. You understand?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Maze hung up. With your phone in hand, you sprinted over to the kitchen in your suite, almost slipping over on your ass at the sharp corner you tried to take. Running in socks on a polished wooden floor - not smart.

Luckily you did have a tub of ice cream in your freezer. You bought it yourself on the first day, together with other snacks. With the cold container and a spoon, you walked to the bigger sofa of the furniture set. On the backrest, there was already a blanket hanging, so you pulled that off and over yourself. You made yourself comfortable and waited for your friend to call you. This didn’t take long. In seconds your ringtone was filling the silence that had been in the suite previously. You picked up. Maze’s face popped up on screen, alongside yours in the corner. Oh, you looked like a mess. Your hair everywhere, makeup smudged from the tears and sleep.

You placed the phone on the armrest so you could eat your ice cream and still talk to her. Maze did the same. Except, for ice cream, she had a pizza box on her lap. It was already half empty so you assumed it was leftovers from her dinner.

“Okay, tell me everything.” She took a bite from her pizza. You opened your ice cream tub. The pop was rather satisfying.

“There is not much to tell, there was a creep in the elevator and he wanted a bit too much for his own good.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? What happened? Are you okay?” Maze was known to talk with her hands. So, with every word, her pizza slice bounced up and down. The cheese was slowly sliding off.

“I mean… he didn’t do anything but he definitely tried to pull off something there. I was not having any of it.”

“You go, girl!” she snapped her fingers. The pizza in her other hand really close to losing its toppings.

“Yeah, yeah.” You ate some of your ice cream. Your wrist hurt as you moved. It was no mystery to you why it did. Maze’s smile disappeared once again as she saw your discomfort.

“What’s wrong? What did that fucker do? Do you want me to fly over? I can be packed in no time. I’ll get the earliest flight out there-”

“No, it’s fine. He just- when I got out of the lift, obviously I wanted to get out of there ASAP, but he grabbed me and… but for the rest, nothing happened. I’m fine.” you felt like you were on a loop. The words repeating themselves.  _I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine._

“Oh bean,” she finally put the pizza down. “It’s going to be okay. I promise. That dipshit knows better than to mess with you again… if not, kick him in the balls for me, won’t you?” this made you laugh. It was a slightly sad laugh, but a laugh after all. “So how was the rest of the day? Better, I hope?”

“It was. I actually-” you were planning on telling her that you had in fact seen Tom again. That out of all of New York, they were filming the new Spider-Man movie right outside the building you were working at. That was interrupted when you heard a faint melody. You recognized it immediately. You had heard the song millions of times. Most of them while watching Tom’s famous lip sync.

“Is that… Umbrella?” Maze looked as confused as you were. The music was muffled as if the source from where it was coming was muted by something just not entirely.

“Yeah. Is it coming from your side?” you asked. She just shook her head while taking a big bite of her pizza. You put down the ice cream and looked around where it could be coming from. All the windows were closed, so it had to be from inside the suite. The tv was off, there was no radio and your laptop was lying in your bedroom, most definitely turned off. You concentrated and listened again. Where was it coming from? Which direction?

“I think, it’s coming from my hallway?” Did somebody leave something out for you at your door?

“Go look!” you got up to do as Maze said, but before your second foot left the couch she yelled out: “But take me with you!”

“Right. Sorry.” you took your phone and walked over to the door. You opened it, but there was nothing on the other side. You were met with an empty hallway. Yet, the music kept on playing.

“Yo,” Maze’s voice pulled your attention away from the hotel corridor, “I think it’s coming from inside your apartment.”

“But where would it co-” Your eyes just so happened to glance at the floor. Where your bag lay. You had dropped it there when you got back. It looked normal. Just your bag. Except for the faint light shining through the gap of the zipper. It was coming from there.

“I think you’re right.” You whispered. No idea why. Just like you had no idea what could be making that noise in your bag. Yet, it still was.

“What are you waiting for. Go look inside, dammit.” you walked over to it, slowly. A bit scared and hesitant.

“What if it’s a bomb?”

“Then it would have most likely exploded by now. Go on! The suspense is killing me.” Once again, you did as you were told by your friend. You bucked down to open the zipper completely. The moment it was open a bit wider and you could see inside of it, you knew something was wrong. You were greeted with a dark green material. Material that you had never seen in your life. At least, not in person.

“What is it?” You didn’t answer her question, instead, you switched the camera on your phone so Maze could look with you. You pulled the enigmatic object out of your purse. It was a jacket, a bomber to be exact.

“Ooh, that’s cute. When did you buy it?”

“I didn’t,” you said emotionless, still staring at the piece of clothing.

“Someone gave it to you?”

“No.” you didn’t think so.

“You  _stole_  it?”

“No!” you repeated louder. “I have no idea how it got in there.” The music had gotten louder. You felt the pocket buzzing so assumed it was coming from there. You put the jacket down on the ground so you could pull whatever was hiding in it, out with one hand. It was a phone. You had pulled it out with the back facing you, and when you pulled it out, you screamed and almost dropped it.

“What? What is it? I can’t see!” Maze sounded like a five-year-old. You couldn’t speak. You just looked at the caller ID:  _Tom H(🕷)._  Underneath it, a picture of Tom. It was an old picture. One that you had never seen before. He looked about fourteen. This could only mean one thing. This was Harrison’s phone!

Maze gasped. “What are you waiting for, answer!” but right then, the call ended. You missed it. “Why didn’t you answer? This was your chance!”  

“No, I can’t answer someone else’s phone. It’s not right.” you flipped the camera back around so Maze could look at you. You were now sitting on the ground. Staring at the two items in front of you. Both didn’t belong to you but somehow found themselves in your possession. Why was this happening to you?

“You know what,” Maze started giggling, “if I didn’t know better, I would say that the universe wanted you and Harrison together, not Tom.”  

“Shut up.” you rolled your eyes.

“I most certainly won’t. How the hell do you even get his jacket AND his phone?”

“I might have bumped into him today.”

“You  _might_  have?”

“Yeah, I’m not sure, well now I am. I didn’t exactly notice at the time.” Maze opened her mouth, but you butted in with the answer, already knowing the question.  _How the hell do you not notice a gorgeous human being bumping into you?_  “I was a bit too busy running away.”  She tried to ask something again, and  _again_  you knew what. “I thought the guy was following me. In the end, it was probably Harrison, but at the time I thought it was the creepy dude. So when he bumped into me, I didn’t look at him, just picked up my things and ran off again.”

“I don’t know if you are brilliant or the biggest idiot that I’ve ever met.”

“How about a perfect mixture of both,” you suggested.

“Fair enough. Now tell me, how does one casually bump into Harrison Osterfield? Because, bitch, I need to know!”

“It’s pretty simple when they are filming in front of your office.”

“Whaaat! Bitch, are you fucking kidding me-”  she stopped at the sound of Rihanna. You looked down at the phone next to you. Tom’s prepubescent face made you smile, but also break out in panic. He was calling again. Should you pick up?”

________________________________________

“Why did you hang up?” Harrison asked.

“She wasn’t picking up.”

“So? Call her again. Or me, whatever. You know what I mean.” he shrugged it off. “Just call her.”

“That would be the third time. I don’t want to look desperate.” Instead of calling one more time, Tom put the phone down. Harrison rolled his eyes.

“Desperate? She doesn’t even know you’re calling for her. If anything, she probably just thinks you really want to talk to me.” He did have a point in that. Still, Tom was too nervous to call her again. It took all the nerves in him to do it the first time. The second time was actually done accidentally. He had pressed the wrong button. To do it a third time? He didn’t know if his body could handle that. He hoped Harrison thought that he put down the phone because he wasn’t planning on making the call. Truth is, his hands were just shaking too much. There have been so many chances that they could have met. So many, yet still the universe kept them apart. Maybe it didn’t want them together. And if the universe didn’t want something, there was nothing Tom could do about that. He didn’t want to piss the world off.

“Then I’ll do it.” Harrison had said it a few times before, but this was the first time he actually reached out for the phone. Tom, however, was quicker. He picked it up and jumped behind the couch so Harrison couldn’t reach it anymore.

“How mature of you.” the blonde rolled his eyes. “But seriously dude, what has gotten into you? You used to be the most confident dickhead when it came to chatting up girls. This…this is on the edge of getting sad.”  

“I don’t know why. I don’t even understand what’s wrong with me. I barely know her, there shouldn’t be any reason for me to fall for her like that… but I did.”  Tom placed his hands on the back of the couch so he could lean against it. He was looking down at the ground. He concentrated on the shapes in the wooden panels that the floor was made out of. It felt like they were swirling around. It was making him dizzy. When he looked up again, Harrison was in front of him.

“Mate, it’s been tough, but I’m sure you’ll get through it. If it won’t be (Y/N), then you will find another one. Plenty of fish in the sea, aye?”

“I can’t believe you actually said that.”  Tom groaned. “It’s such a cliche, man.”

“Just matching up the situation.” He patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. Tom wanted to say something before he felt his phone slip from underneath his fingers. At first, he thought he had lost grip and dropped it, but then he saw Harrison. The phone was in his hands.

“No! No, no, no. Give it back.” He jumped up and hung over the couch but Harrison took a step back. That was already enough of a distance that Tom couldn’t even graze him. He fell with his face flat on to the cushion of the sofa. With his mouth against the fake leather, Tom mumbled again: “Give it back, Harrison.”

“Are you gonna call her?”

“No.” Tom pushed himself back up. His legs that had previously been hanging in the air, touched the ground. He brushed his fingers through his hair. The half-styled quiff that he had going on now completely squashed flat to one side. Harrison was looking at the screen, scrolling or swiping in some app. “Well, then you give me no choice.” With one tick on the screen, Tom could hear the soft sound of the phone waiting to connect to the other line. Harrison put the phone up to his ear and waited to hear a voice.

“No, hang up! Right now!” Once again, Tom jumped over the couch. He could have just as easily walked around, but this was quicker. He pushed Harrison into the big armchair and did his best to get his phone back. Unfortunately, Harrison put up a pretty strong fight.

“Tom, I’m doing this for you. You’ll thank me later.” Harrison groaned as he pushed Tom’s face away with the palm of his hand. The two of them struggled for a few more seconds until Harrison’s muscles loosened and he let go of Tom. He, in his turn, had to hold himself up not to fall back into the coffee table.

“I think she declined the call.” Harrison threw Tom his phone back.

“What? Why do you think so?” He looked at the screen, not that there would be any signs on it.

“It didn’t connect. If the call wasn’t interrupted, it would have rung for a few more seconds at the least.”  They looked at each other confused. Harrison had a little bit of disappointment hidden in there too. Tom, on the other hand, was mostly hurt.

________________________________________

“That is the second time already you let it ring till the end. Next time you have to pick up!” it was clear that Maze was getting frustrated. You were still sitting on the ground. Your phone leaning against the wall so you could talk properly with your best friend. The bomber lay untouched. Harrison’s phone lying on top of it. You daren’t touch it again. You were sure that the simplest of touches would burn you. It felt like a cursed object. The forbidden fruit. You were not supposed to have it. Neither of the two things lying in front of you. Not to forget the backpack that sat next to your suitcase. This was all so wrong. You knew it. You never should have gotten any of those things and Harrison should have never gotten yours.  _Yet, here we are._

“I can’t.” you merely whispered. “It feels… wrong.” You glanced at the phone again. Afraid that it would start to ring again. What if, the next time, it wouldn’t be Tom. What if it was his manager telling him he got the role he had been working for months for? Or his mother, with the news that a loved one had gotten into an accident? Or… whatever it could be, you weren’t the person to hear it.

“(Y/N). Tom had called twice in the last seven minutes. Nobody does that unless it’s an emergency. You have to answer him!”

“I-” You could barely start your sentence.   ** _Because, when the sun shines we shine together._** The melody echoed through the room again. The phone vibrated rhythmically.  ** _Told you I’ll be here forever._**

“Come on. You have to do it eventually.”  ** _Said I’ll always be your friend_** Rihanna’s voice chimed into the conversation with her amazing voice.  ** _Took an oath and I’m a stick it out till the end._** You could only shake your head and gulp.

“C’mon, you have to. This could be important. You don’t want to be the one to be guilted for the death of Tom Holland.”  ** _Now it’s raining more than ever._**  That did it for you. The idea was crazy. You knew it was nothing as serious, just one of Maze’s jokes. If Tom had really been in trouble he would probably know better to call an emergency number instead of Harrison… right?  ** _Know that we still have each other._**   But the crazy fangirl in you kicked in. With a gulp, you picked up the phone and were ready to slide to answer button. You were doing it.

 ** _You can stand under my u-_**   The ringtone stopped, but the call didn’t start. Instead, a notification popped up. _Too low battery. Connect to a charger._  You looked at the top of the screen to check. Indeed, the phone was at 1%.

“Are you kidding me.” As you were still looking at it. The one turned into a zero. The screen turned black and the blue SAMSUNG logo flashed before your eyes as the phone turned itself off for good.

________________________________________

“What do we do now?” Harrison asked after a while. “Because I do want my phone back.”

“Your guess is as good as mine, mate.” Tom didn’t know what to do. Did she really ignore the call? It didn’t seem to be something she would do. Then again, what did he actually know about her? She was a complete stranger. A stranger that stole his heart and ran away with it…And he didn’t even bother to call the police.

The two boys sat in silence. Both on either side of the room. The silence was dense. Neither of them knew what to say next. It was obvious that they were thinking about the same thing. There was no denying that.

Tom’s head was spinning. He was trying to think of some way that they could get hold of (Y/N). Not even for him anymore. Simply to exchange back Harrison’s and (Y/N)’s things. There had to be a way to find her. As weird as it sounded,  to locate her…

“That’s it.” Tom lit up as he thought of an idea. At the moment he felt more like a character in a movie he would play in, than himself. “I might have an idea.”

“Well,” Harrison nudged him to go on.

“We can track your phone. See where its last been.” At the sound of those words, Harrison got excited too. “Yes, Tommy!” his snapped his middle and index finger together. “Alright, how do we do that?”

________________________________________

The next morning you woke up extremely early. Most likely because you had taken a long nap the afternoon before. You tossed and turned in your bed for a good half hour before finally giving up on sleep. You were wide awake. Checking the time, you sighed realizing it was barely 7. Most of New York wasn’t even awake yet. The part that was, probably hadn’t even gone to sleep.

Not having much else to do, you got up and got dressed in some clothes in which you could run. You had all of this energy, you might as well you use it for once. Why not… go for a jog. Usually, the idea sounded horrendous. Exercise? In public? No thank you.

Today, however, something in you switched. You were ready to start the day. Not in the most glamorous way maybe, but you didn’t give a damn anymore.

With your hair up in a tight ponytail, in a pair of joggings that hugged your hips just right, a shirt and sports bra that actually supported everything that needed the support, and a pair of sneakers that were quite comfortable, you looked at yourself in the mirror. For someone to be up at 7 and going out for a jog, you didn’t even look dead inside.

You opened the door, ready to step outside. Immediately you were met face to face with a pair of eyes. “Good morning miss.” James smiled so sweetly that alone could give everyone in the room cavities. He had a tray in front of him. Right, last night you had ordered yourself breakfast.

“Morning.” you smiled, pulling out one earbud to listen to what the bellhop had to say.

“Are you heading out miss?” the boy looked you up and down, but not in a way that made you uncomfortable. It was a curious way. An analyzing one. You weren’t sure, but something told you that you weren’t exactly his type anyway.

“Uh yeah, I was. To be honest, I forgot about breakfast.” you laughed nervously.

“I can bring it up when you get back.” He was ready to leave, that was clear.

“No, wait, just give it to me,” you extended your hands so he could hand over the tray with the delicious looking breakfast. He was a bit hesitant but gave in at the end.

“You sure, miss? It will probably get cold by the time you’re back.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I can always heat it up.” you smiled. “Thank you.”

“If you say so, miss.” he gave you one more of those warm smiles before walking away. You stepped back inside the room, placed the tray on the table and once again headed out. Not before taking a few strips of bacon with you, of course.

________________________________________

Tom and Harrison had spent at least two hours of the previous night figuring out how they could track down a phone. When they had managed to find a website that could do it for them, it was up to Harrison to remember all the information that they needed.  _Why was this so hard?_  Of course, if it wasn’t, then everybody could be able to find them. Also, not the most ideal situation.

“Yes, here it is.” Harrison ticked on the screen of the laptop. Exactly where a small red dot was pinpointing the location of his phone. “60 East - 54th Street. New York.”

“Dude, that’s not even that far away from here. See, only two blocks.” Tom pointed out. Their own hotel was just a six-minute walk from where she was. Or at least, from the last known location, the phone had been.

“Should we go now?” They looked at each other. In the time they had been looking, the sun had gone down and they hadn’t been bothered to turn on a light. Hence, their only light source was the blue glow coming from the computer screen.

“No, it’s too late.” Tom slouched his shoulders as he spoke. He had to hide his excitement. Not even for Harrison, but for himself. He couldn’t let himself hype this up so much. Just in case it again didn’t work out as he hoped. By now he knew very well that things didn’t tend to happen in his favor. Quiet against, actually.

“So when do you want to do it? Now we know at least where she is.” Harrison ticked a few more times on the screen to emphasize his point.

“We should go tomorrow. Before we head to set. It’s in the same direction anyway.” He saw the distaste to the idea on his friends face. But the blond agreed to it in the end.

And that is how the two ended up in the lobby of  _Hotel Elysee_. It was a rather charming place. Pretty fancy as well. Probably in the same price range as the hotel, they have been staying at, Tom assumed. It just had a more classic feel to it. This hotel had a warmer, cozier atmosphere. He preferred it.

“So what’s next? What do we do? We don’t have much time.” Harrison reminded him. It was true. They had about ten minutes before a car would drive up to their own hotel and they would have to get in there to drive to set. It was a risky move for them to be here. If anyone found out they were roaming the streets of New York, at the crack of dawn… looking for a random girl? The headlines would be more than interesting.

“I guess, we just ask, don’t we?” he shrugged and walked towards the front desk, where a man was talking on the phone. When he saw Tom and Harrison walk up, a spark fired up in his tired eyes.

“Good morning. How may I help you?”

“Uhm hi. We were wondering if you could help us find someone.”

“Fine someone?” The man looked utmost confused.

“Yes, see,” Harrison continued. Tom was glad for that. Out of the two of them, it was Haz that could improvise the best, “We were supposed to meet up with a friend, who is a guest in your hotel, for breakfast. We’ve waited for a while already and we’re kind of in a hurry. You know how restaurants are with their reservations.” he laughed casually and the man behind the desk joined in. “We hoped that you could maybe call her room. Tell her we’re here?”

“Of course. What is the room number.” he had the phone already up to his ear. A finger ready to press the number of the room in. Harrison sucked in a breath.

“I don’t remember.”

“That is quite alright sir. What is the name of your friend.” the man smiled sheepishly and put down the phone. Harrison nudged Tom in the ribs lightly, so the other man wouldn’t notice.

“Uhm, (Y/N). (Y/F/N).” it was what he remembered from the tag on her suitcase. The man nodded as he typed in the name. He searched for a while, but then his features scrunched up.

“I’m sorry. There is nobody staying here under this name.”

“Wha- I mean, are you sure?” Tom’s heart dropped a mile into the ground. This wasn’t possible. Maybe the man had misspelled it. She had to be here. He could feel it. Besides, the phone tracker said Harrison’s phone was here. So how would it have gotten here, if she wasn’t staying at this hotel? Unless she was here with someone else… No, he couldn’t think like that now.

“We were pretty sure she was staying here. Maybe you’ve seen her,” Harrison started to describe her looks. While he talked, Tom could feel a pair of eyes on him. He turned around to see a bellhop. He stiffened up when he realized he was caught.

“I’m sorry sir, unfortunately, I can not help you.” the man said sternly. Harrison gave up. “Well, thank you anyway.” they walked away from the desk. Almost at the door again, there was a pair of rushed footsteps. Tom turned around and saw the same bellhop from before. His hat was slightly askew. Most likely from the little jog he had just performed.

“You alright, mate?” Tom asked. The boy nodded.

“Yeah,” he said unsurely. “I just, I heard you talking to Mike at the desk. I - I think I know who you were talking about. The girl.” Tom was all ears. Harrison tried to talk to him, tell him that they really had to go, but all he could focus on was the hotel employee who, according to his nametag, went by James. “She does stay here. I’ve brought her her breakfast just a few minutes ago.”

“So, she’s upstairs?” Tom was already calculating the minutes. If he sprinted up the stairs, he could still confess his feelings to her and make it back in time to get picked up for set. If he let Harrison go back ahead, maybe that would give him some extra time even.

“No, she left just before you two walked in. But she will probably be back soon.”

“Mate, we have to go.” Harrison’s voice broke through the wall that Tom’s mind had created. The illusion that this plan could work out, that he could finally see her again, was crumbling apart.

“I know, Haz, just… let me think for a moment.” he was about to snap.

“Tom. They’re gonna kill you if you show up late.” Again, Harrison was 100% right. He had fucked up enough on set yesterday. If he arrived late, it would make production so much more difficult. Without thinking, his feet were moving to the exit of the building.

“Wait,” James the bellhop said pulling Tom straight back to where he stood moments ago, “Do you want to leave her a message?”


	5. The One in the Shop

Why did it always have to rain in New York when you decided to go outside? You had run five blocks when you could hear the thunder above your head. Not much later, the pitter-patter of water droplets around you and you could feel them fall on top of your head. People started to appear under umbrellas. Your mind went to that song you heard continuously yesterday.

_You have my heart, and we’ll never be worlds apart._

The lyrics echoed through your head as you slowed down your step.  There was no point in running away from it, you were already soaked.  

_Maybe in magazines, but you’ll still be my star._

Your arms started shivering as a wind blew by. The Autumn weather was finally catching up to the city. The rain fell faster and faster. It actually started to hurt. You had to look down at the ground, hiding your face from the rain and harsh wind. Looking at the ground you did your best not to bump into anything or anyone. That didn’t go so well. Already after a few steps, your shoulder hit someone else’s. You mumbled an apology and walked on. Your eyes on the ground at all times. The blustery weather only got worse as you neared the hotel again.

The door was opened for you quickly. The temperature change made your body shiver. It was so warm, almost not natural. You wiped the water that had collected itself on your face off. The sound of the rain made you turn around. It looked like a solid wall of water pouring down on the streets.

“Had a good morning jog, miss?” The older man next to the door chuckled. You laughed along with him. “Well, there is nothing like a good morning shower, isn’t there?” The man nodded with an amused agreeing. Over the few short days of your stay, you had become quite friendly with the staff. You thought it was a decent thing to do, seeing you were staying in the hotel for a good two weeks.

With one more smile, you made your way to your room. Still wanting to have some exercise, you decided to take the stairs. You regretted the decision as soon as you reached the second floor. The wet material of your trousers was sticking to every inch of your body and you could feel the burn already on your thighs. This was going to be a hell later on.

With the pain in your legs, you kept on walking until you reached your door. You pulled out the key from your pocket, thank god you didn’t lose it. It would have been the icing on the cake that was this bad morning. It wasn’t even that bad but your mind just wasn’t in the positive mindset. You kept thinking about the phone. After it had died you put it in the backpack. If only you weren’t such an idiot, you could have just answered the phone and who knows what could have happened. Would you be preparing yourself for a date right now, instead of pulling off the wet clothes from your body? Would you be texting him instead of turning on the hot shower?  

You were about to step into the glass cubicle, some of the water already softly bounding off your skin. Then there was a knock on your door. It almost made you slip on the tiled floor. As you picked up the white robe that hung next to the door and threw it over your body there was one more knock. Quietly, in case you didn’t feel like opening the door, you walked up to it and leaned to take a peek through the peephole. It was James. He knocked a third time. You opened it just enough so you could see each other’s faces. There was no need for accidental wardrobe malfunctions. Especially that you had barely any clothes on in the first place.

James had a tray in his hands. How you had not seen that sooner was a mystery. “Sorry, James, I think there has been a mistake. I didn’t order anything.”

“No, ma’am. This was-” Your feet were getting cold and as you heard the water in the shower running, you realized you left it on.

“Sorry, but I really don’t have the time for this. Can you come back later?” James opened his mouth, just to close it again quickly. A second later he spoke anyway. Probably something else than he originally had in mind.

“Of course, ma’am.” He nodded his head minimally. You smiled, an apology written all over it, and closed the door. Then you made your way back to the shower. You winced at basically every little move of your leg muscles. Your thighs really burning now. When you got inside the bathroom, the room was filled with steam. You had never been to a sauna, but this was probably something like it. With a sigh, you took off the soft robe and walked into the source of the steam. Thankfully, the water was still hot.

________________________________________

“Yeah. Alright. See you tomorrow then.”  Tom said into his phone. Through the noise of the rain around him, he could still hear the director’s assistant on the other end of the line say goodbye and hang up. Tom put his phone in his pocket. He pulled the hood of his hoodie over his head again as it had blown over as he had been talking on the phone.

“Who was it?” Harrison asked as he tried to keep his own head covered from the rain.

“Jack. He said that filming is canceled for today due to the weather.” Tom repeated the words he heard. They had only been a block or two away from their hotel where they would have been picked up to go to set when Tom’s phone rang.  At first, his heart exploded in the hopes it was (Y/N). But those thoughts disappeared at the same speed as they came. He had given that message to the bellboy only ten minutes ago, there was no way she would be calling him already. Although…maybe…no. Unfortunately, it was just Jack,

“Well, thank god for that.” Harrison sighed in relief. “I wasn’t really looking forward to working in this weather.”

“Do you think I was-  _oof_.” He had been looking at Harrison as he talked and didn’t notice his shoulder hit against someone. He wanted to apologize but the woman was already a step ahead of him. “Sorry,” she mumbled and kept walking. It all happened quickly so Tom didn’t get a proper look at her. He just saw a glimpse of what she was wearing.

“You must be mad to go running in the rain like this,” Harrison commented as he looked behind him to also get a look at the girl. Tom tried to do so too, but the rain was falling so hard that everything more than a foot away was becoming a grey blur. He turned back around to continue the conversation.

The two of them were laughing at some stupid joke as they entered the hotel. Both of them drenched from head to toe. Water was dripping in front of Tom’s eyes. The gel in Harrison’s neatly styled blond quiff had dissolved and his hair was now sticking onto his forehead. Their clothes at least five shades darker because of the water. Tom was just happy that he didn’t decide to wear a white t-shirt this morning. The same couldn’t be said about his friend. The material was sticking to his chest and looked almost see-through.

“Cover yourself up, Mate. Some of the guests are enjoying the show a bit too much.”  Tom told his best friend. Harrison raised an eyebrow at him. Then, both of their eyes landed on a group of ladies, probably around their 40’s, sitting in the lounge area of the lobby. All of them were staring at Harrison. A certain kind of hunger filling their eyes. Tom had to hide his amusement as he watched Harrison - his cheeks red from the cold and embarrassment - crossing his arms over his chest. It didn’t do much but it was enough for the women to turn back around in disappointment.

Tom put his arm on Harrison’s shoulder, squeezing it a bit to get him to walk to the elevator. The water from the blue jacket stayed behind on his hand after he pulled it away. Trying to not catch much more of the attention of the other hotel residents, they walked to the back of the lobby, where the elevators were located, with their heads hung a bit low.

In their suite, they separated and went off to their own rooms, to change into some warm clothes. For both of them, this meant sweatpants and hoodies. It didn’t matter if they looked good or not, it’s not like they had to be anywhere anymore. Suddenly they had a day off from work… and no idea what to do. It was a big city, it was still early and they had the full day ahead.

With so many opportunities to spend the day, there was still only one thing that Tom could think of. He sat on the couch, his phone in hand just in case.  _In case what?_  He wasn’t sure. He just kept on hoping that she would finally call him. He didn’t want to be so desperate but by this point, it was too late. He was in too deep. There was no way out. He had to admit it: he was in love. In love with a stranger. In love with a girl, he had only met once. In love with someone that he would probably never see again. It was sad but it was the truth.

“Tom?” He heard it but the words didn’t connect to an action in his brain. It was a mere whisper, far far away. The word was very well known to him, it was his name after all, however to his occupied mind it was just noise. It didn’t make any sense to him. “Tom!” It got louder. Still unclear.

“TOM!” With a few blinks of his eyes, Tom pulled himself out. Suddenly he was aware of everything around him again. He was back on the couch in the hotel suite. Harrison sat next to him. His face contorted with worry.

Tom’s dry eyes stung. He rubbed them with his fingers. “What?” he asked weakly in the meantime.

“Shit mate, you got it bad.” He didn’t have to ask what Harrison was talking about. He knew what he meant… And he agreed.

“What do I do?” He didn’t want to feel like this. He didn’t want to be so hopeless, so dependent, so… lonely. Yes, he was lonely. Ever since he met her he felt empty and he hated it. Unfortunately, it was only getting worse as the time flew by. It was one of those injuries you don’t feel because it grows so slowly you barely notice until you realize you are in fact bleeding to death. Just like that, she would be the death of him.

“The obvious thing would be to say that you should move on.” Harrison looked away. Once again he was right. It would be the obvious thing to do. It would be the easiest thing to do. Just press and rewind. Just forget. Like it never happened. Tom wished it would be that easy but nothing ever was. He still remembered how her cheeks burned red when he handed her that backpack. He remembered how her body tensed up when he put his arm around her when they took that picture. He hoped she still had it. He wished he had it. All he had was those memories. Those damn memories. He had wondered the night before if it was really her who he was falling for or if it was just those memories. Right before falling asleep he had decided that it didn’t really matter.

“We should eat some breakfast,” Harrison suggested, probably to distract Tom from his own thoughts. It worked partly.

“Yeah, good idea. Should I order room service?” Tom was about to pick up the phone that stood on the small light stand next to the sofa. Harrison stopped him.

“No. Let’s go get it ourselves. You need some fresh air.” Tom’s eyebrows met in the middle as he scrunched them in confusion.

“We were just outside… And I’m pretty sure it’s still raining.” Instead of responding Harrison got up to look out the window.

“Huh, look at that, it stopped.” The grin on his face was undeniable. Tom stretched his neck so he could try and see the view outside. It wasn’t hard for him to see the raindrops that contrasted against the dark buildings on the opposite side of the street. He gave his friend a look. Harrison groaned: “It’s more like a drizzle now. C’mon, you need food.  _I_  need food.”  

“Fine, let’s go. There’s a deli around the block,” Tom remembered walking past it.

“That’s more like it.” Harrison ran off to find his shoes.

________________________________________

You stepped out of the shower, some parts of the body still aching but you felt re-energized at least. The water dripped down to the ground. You had to walk carefully not to slip on the tiles. You managed to survive the short walk to the sink and mirror where you continued drying your body with the soft towel the hotel had provided. A few minutes later your hair was up in a towel and you were wearing sweatpants and a tank top.

You stepped out of the bathroom. You were greeted with a whoosh of cool air. You barely noticed how hot it started to get because of the warm water that you used in the shower. The change of air was nice. It gave you goosebumps in a good way.

Then you saw the breakfast that was still there from before your jog. It still looked good, probably cold but that never bothered you before. As you looked at it you just didn’t feel like you were in the mood for fancy hotel food. You needed something simple, like a sandwich. Yeah, that sounded nice.

The tray of food stayed forgotten as you dried your hair quickly with the dryer and then went on the search for a bra. Finally finding it, you glanced out the window. It was still raining. Not as bad as before. But rain is rain and rain is never pleasant to walk through. The leaves on the trees outside were also being blown to the side by the heavy wind. It would be cold.

You grabbed your zip-up hoodie and pulled it over the tank top. You looked in the mirror and watched your nose scrunch. This wouldn’t be enough. It was probably cold outside and the rain… you had nothing waterproof except for mascara and that was completely useless. You weren’t even wearing makeup now.

Your eyes wandered off in the reflection to the green material hanging over the couch. You had planned to hang it up but never actually got around to do it. The bomber jacket was probably suitable against rain. You but your lip unsure. Should you do it? No, you shouldn’t. It wasn’t yours. You basically stole it from him. But… it was the only option you had.

You walked over to the couch where the piece of clothing lay. You traced your hand over it. The material was slick and cold. Touching it gave you a funny feeling inside. This was Harrison’s jacket. Harrison Osterfield. He wore this, only yesterday to make matters worse. It would probably still smell like…  _Ahh, this was getting weird!_  You had to stop. Someone had to stop you.

Only there was no one there to stop you and that is how you found yourself standing in front of the mirror again. Harrison’s jacket swallowing you up. The material on the inside was so warm and soft. You loved it. Not to mention, it did smell like him. At least, you assumed it was him. You had never smelt something like this. It was a woody smell, but also floral. The smell intensified as you embraced yourself tighter in the jacket. It came off the collar.  _So he was one of those guys._

Being so comfortable in it, you didn’t want to take it off anymore. You knew it was a mistake to put it on in the first place. The damage was done, what would it matter if you wore it a little bit longer. He would never find out anyway… hopefully. Surely you could sneak out for a little walk to the deli shop. Yeah, you could. No harm would be done.  _Just don’t think about how expensive this jacket could be._  No.  _And don’t think what could happen if you ruin it._  No.  _And especially don’t think about what Harrison will say or do if he sees you wearing it._  No! You wanted to pull off the sleeves when your stomach started to growl. You had to get food. Now!  

________________________________________

“But seriously, what is it about her that makes her so special. Why not any other girl?” Harrison asked him as they stepped through the door of the shop. Their voices lowered so the people around them couldn’t hear them. Already matching the sweatpants/hoodie combo, both men were also wearing caps. To hide their faces from both the rain and the fans.

“I don’t know what it is. It’s just… sometimes you get those feelings without a clear explanation.” Before they went to order their sandwiches at the counter, they walked through the aisles to get some other snacks for the day. Tom was reading the label of a bag of some candy when Harrison leaned against the shelf to continue talking to him. “What kind of feelings are we talking about here? Are you saying you’re actually _in love with her_?”

“I don’t know.” He did know, but he thought that if he said it out loud it would make everything so much worse. It was better to keep it to himself, no need to pull others into it. Then, if he was wrong, there would be no embarrassment.

He put the candy back on the shelf. “What I do know is that I can’t stop thinking about her. She’s everywhere, but she’s nowhere, you know?” He looked at Harrison. His face gave him the answer already:  _no_. He didn’t know what Tom tried to explain. How could he? It just was one of those feelings you had to experience to understand and unfortunately, or maybe luckily, Harrison had not had the pleasure to meet someone that would simultaneously break his heart and make it beat twice the speed.

“Everywhere I look, it’s her beautiful face and her gorgeous hair.” Someone in line for the counter dropped something, making both of them look in the direction. It was a girl. Tom’s heart broke for the millionth time. Her hair was in a ponytail, she wore a green bomber jacket (probably her boyfriend’s) over a hoodie (also her boyfriend’s assumably). Tom could only see her profile. The way she smiled at the cashier as she picked up her bottle reminded him of the way (Y/N) smiled at him.

“See that girl, all I can see is (Y/N).” Tom looked away. The few long seconds he got could already be considered as spooky. Harrison kept staring at her.

“That is her, you div!” Tom looked wide eyes at his best friend. No. That couldn’t be possible. He was messing with him. Just to check, he looked back at the girl. For a moment he couldn’t believe his eyes. Was it actually her? It couldn’t be. After all this time…It couldn’t be this simple. Immediate panic flowed through him. What was he supposed to do now? Should he walk up to her? Ask her why she hadn’t called?  He felt a force on the back of his shoulder. It was Harrison’s hand, pushing him forward.

“Go on, talk to her.” With a swift move, Tom slipped away from Harrison’s grip and turned around to face him again.

“No, I can’t.”

“Tom, we are not having this conversation again.”

“We aren’t, because there is no conversation. I’m not going up to her. After all this time it is clear that the universe doesn’t want us together.”

“Fuck that,” he hissed, “You just spend the whole walk up here talking how deeply in love with her you are-”

“I never  _said_  I’m in love with her,” Tom mumbled. Harrison’s eyes told him everything he needed:  _But you thought it._  Then he continued his speech as if never interrupted. “And Don’t you think it is weird how randomly it was for both of you to be here at the same time. If that’s not a sign from the universe, I don’t know what is.” Tom wanted to rebuttal. He had a whole argument prepared and everything, but it went all out the door when his pocket vibrated. He picked his phone up and read the message from Jack the director’s assistant:

**_The weather cleared up, we are ready to film. need you on set ASAP._ **

It was sent ten minutes ago. Another message appeared under it.

**_WHERE R U?_ **

“Shit,” Tom put his phone in his pocket. “I have to go.”

“What happened?” Harrison asked, but his eyes were on (Y/N) as if she could evaporate any moment.

“They want to film today anyway. I have to go. I’m already late.”

“Should I come with you?” Harrison’s glances between him and her were quick. Like he wasn’t sure where he was supposed to look.

“No, I’ll be fine. Just- stay here. Maybe get your phone back.” And with that, he ran off. The last thing he heard was a groan from Harrison, the bell above the door as he pulled it open and a voice very known to him, saying: “Ha-” That was all he heard of her. After that, the door shut behind him and he could only hear the busy street. Not looking back he walked back to the hotel. He couldn’t look back. If he did, he knew he would run back to her. There was no time for that now… if only there was more time.

________________________________________

“Harrison?” You asked as you turned around. Why you did that? No idea. It was the last thing you should have done. The boy turned around too. Slowly. He was holding in his lip tightly so his mouth was just a thin line across his face. His eyes were everywhere except on you. You tried again.

“Harrison?” This time he did look at you.

“Hi. Uh… hi.” His eyes weren’t on your face. “That’s a nice jacket you got there,” he chuckled, pointing at you. You looked down and your entire body froze. Only one thing managed to get processed by your brain at the moment. One word.  _Fuck_. Here you were, in a deli, in front of Harrison Osterfield, wearing his jacket… that you accidentally stole. Just great.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be wearing this. It’s just that it was still raining and I didn’t have-” You were already sliding it off your shoulders when he interrupted.

“Don’t worry about it.” His smile stayed put. You looked up into his sky blue eyes. “It looks better on you anyway.” The compliment made you feel really warm inside. That heat went all the way up to your face. You wanted to hide but how? One of your hands went nervously up to your ear to tuck away a strand of hair. Only there was no strand of hair to tuck as you had all of it in a tight ponytail.

“Thanks.” You managed to say without stuttering or sounding like a pure idiot. Or so you hoped. Harrison looked at you with those damn eyes of his. It wasn’t intimidating, no that was not it. It was… captivating. One look and you were hooked. You couldn’t look away from them- from him. You felt awkward staring at him like that but he was doing the same. You were just looking at each other. The longer you stayed like that, the more nervous you got. Your throat got dry, so you unscrewed the cap of the bottle you had just bought. This at least gave you an excuse to take your eyes off of him.  

“So…” He broke the silence. You looked up at him from over your bottle. His arm was leaning against a shelf filled with various packed goods. He looked so casual yet so stylish at the same time… And he was just wearing sweatpants and a hoodie.  _Damn it._  “How have you been?”

Your brain was too fast for the rest of your body. Your mouth opened to speak before you had swallowed all of the water, resulting in you coughing violently. Harrison quickly took a step forward and put his hand on your back. “Shit, are you okay?” he was clearly hiding a laugh. As you tried to speak up, your voice was a bit broken.

“Y-yeah. I’m… I’m good.” After a deep breath, you could speak normally again. “Same goes for the former question. You?”

“I have to admit, it has been a couple of crazy days but it’s all good.” You weren’t sure if you were in a position to ask him about it but you did it anyway: “Crazy how?”

“Well, only yesterday I ran seven blocks after a girl then got yelled at and my phone was stolen.” He said it in a serious tone but when he finished a smirk and wink followed his words. You slapped a hand in front of your face of embarrassment. The large sleeve of the jacket covered most of your palm so it was a soft hit at least.

“I am really sorry about that. I didn’t know it was you. I thought-” the sentence never came to an end. Instead, you shook your head. “Nevermind.” Harrison’s next words surprised you.

“It was that guy that smoked like a chimney?” You immediately knew who he meant. Before you could ask him how he knew about Rob, the man behind the counter yelled out: “You two gonna stand there till we close or what?” Harrison apologized with a wave of his hand then looked at you. “You wanna get out of here?”

________________________________________

Tom ran out of the deli into the streets. He tried to ignore the voice he heard right before the door closed behind him. He couldn’t believe it happened again. She was so close but of course, he had to leave right then. His step quickened as he tried to make his way through the other passerby’s. In the crowd, he was just like anyone else. Just a person trying to get to work in the early morning. So much had happened and it wasn’t even ten in the morning. He already felt exhausted.

He got back to the hotel and the black car was already waiting for him. The driver was standing outside, not looking too happy. The rain had stopped when he was in the shop with Harrison, but the wind was still blowing roughly. Tom apologized to the driver for the delay and got into the car. Fortunately, the heating was on. His cheeks were flushed from the weather and the running and now the warmth spread over the rest of his body in a comfortable way. He slid down in the car seat and closed his eyes. Breathing slowly.  _In and out._  Blocking out the girl he longed for. At least doing his best to do so.

He failed. Oh, how he failed. It was the only thing he could think about all the way to set. He should have stayed in the sandwich shop. He should have just walked over to her. Catch her by surprise, hopefully, and tell her the truth. Tell her how he felt. That it was killing him that she had never called or texted him; it was killing him that they keep bumping into each other with no possibility to actually talk. It’s always one thing or the other. It was killing him and he had had enough!

But he didn’t tell her this. Instead, he walked away, leaving Harrison with her.  _At least he could maybe get his stuff back finally._

________________________________________

When Harrison heard his name being called out, he froze. Should he turn around? Or should he follow Tom out the door? In the end, he went with option one, accompanied by a small smile. (Y/N) smiled back at him, her shoulders fell realizing she had to correct person. His eyes immediately recognized what she was wearing. It was his jacket. The one he had lost only yesterday when they had another accidental switch. The sight of her in his clothes made his heart skip half a beat… and he had this feeling in him. This unexplainable feeling.  _Why?_

The feeling didn’t go away. When they walked down the street, just chatting casually, he could hear how his heartbeat was raising. His eyes were pulled to hers like by a magnet. The few times that his hand brushed over hers, his breath hitched. This wasn’t right. He knew it. He wasn’t supposed to be feeling like this. Far from it, actually.

They had been walking for a solid minute or two. Not really in a specific direction or anything, when his stomach made clear signs that it was really time to eat something. (Y/N) was just ready to take a bite from her sandwich when she looked up at him. There was no denying she saw the look on his face. He tried to cover it with a smile but it didn’t work. She wasn’t stupid.

“Do you want some?” she looked up at him with those bright eyes of hers. Harrison bit his lip unintentionally… or maybe he did have intentions behind it. Thoughts so deep in his mind that he himself didn’t even know they existed.

“No, no. I’m good but thanks.”

“Well, your stomach is saying something else. Here, have it,” She pulled her sandwich in “half”, giving the bigger and untouched piece to Harrison, “I insist.”

“Thanks.” She insisted so she gave him no choice anymore. He took a bite of the bread and that was when his brain realized that he was, in fact, starving. From the corner of his eye, he saw her satisfied smirk right before she continued eating her own food. She looked cute. With the big hoodie and his jacket swallowing her up like that. She had the sleeves of both lightly rolled up. Just enough so she was able to hold her sandwich properly. Still chewing she turned her head slowly to him.  _Oh shit,_  he was staring.

“Do I have something on my face?” her hand started to rub her cheek. Then the other.

“No, sorry. I- my head just went blank I suppose.”

“Oh,” her hand left her mouth, “I get that too sometimes. It’s weird huh? Most of the times you don’t even notice it, until someone pulls you out of it.”

“Exactly.” Now he knew how Tom felt. For the last few days, Harrison had been kept busy pulling Tom out of his little daydreams and thought spirals and now… he was being sucked into his own… and there was no one to get him out.

________________________________________

“Tom!” Jack the director assistant ran up to him the moment the brown-haired boy stepped a foot on set, already changed in the clothes he was supposed to wear for the scene as he had made a quick detour to the costume department. “Where the hell have you been? You know we kinda need you in this movie, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sorry. I… fell asleep.” For some reason, he didn’t feel comfortable saying where he had actually been. He didn’t feel like it was anyone’s business. Which was probably not true. People should know where he was. He was important for the movie. If anything happened to him… But the fact that for a few minutes he could just stroll around the Big Apple with his best mate, without being bothered or stopped by fans felt fantastic. He was just a regular person who no one cared about.

That feeling was now gone. Here on set, everyone knew who he was. People got out the way for him, even when he had said thousands of times that that was never necessary unless he had to go to the toilet while he was in the Spider-Man suit.

“You did tell me I would get a day off. So I didn’t really expect to get a call back less than an hour later.”

“Well it’s good you’re here now. Let’s get you to the makeup trailer.” Jack put his hand on Tom’s shoulder and guided him towards the trailer as Tom had no idea where they were. Today they would be shooting a new scene at a new location.

As he walked towards the little house on wheels his mind once again, probably the hundredth time that day, traveled back to (Y/N). He should stop thinking about her. He must. This was getting out of hand. At least for the day. While he was at work. He had to concentrate on his lines. On his acting, on anything except for…

“So where is your handsome blond friend?” Kathy, the makeup artist said as she started to clean up his face a bit with a wet wipe.

“I gave him the day off,” Tom chuckled. Kathy started on the makeup. She looked at him through the mirror. Her eyebrows furrowed.

“Anything on your mind sweetie? You can talk to me. Makeup artists are the new bartenders, you know?” this made Tom laugh again, a bit sadly.

“It’s all good.” His lips pursed into a tight smile. Kathy detached the fluffy brush from his forehead and now actually looked into his eyes, not their reflection.

“Ah,” her hands went to her hips, “so it’s a girl.”

“What? No-o-o.” he tried to sound casual. It didn’t work as she raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing him.“Tom, that was not your finest acting.”

“Fine, yes, there’s a girl. How did you know?”  She continued putting foundation on his face. “Is it that obvious?”

“No, I heard you talking to Harrison about a certain (Y/N) yesterday. So, who is she?” At the sound of her name, Tom wanted to slide out of the chair he was seated in. Melt into a puddle. What was she doing to him?

“She’s just… I don’t know. I barely know her. We only met once but she keeps coming back  into my life.” His leg started to tremble up and down. His fingers were ticking against the armrest of his makeup chair.

“You tried talking to her?”

“I try but it’s either the nerves or something e-” Right then the brush went over his nose, making him sneeze.

“Sorry, hun, what were you saying?”

“Well today, for example, I was at a sandwich shop and she happened to be there. It was the first time this week that I would finally have a chance to talk to her properly since we met, but when I finally got the nerve to talk to her, I had to go to set.”

“So you left her there?”

“If you say it like that, it makes me sound like an arse.” he groaned, “Harrison stayed in the shop. The two of them- it’s complicated.”

“Oh, does he like her too? Is that the problem?” This made him go rigid. Harrison didn’t like her. Not like that at least. No. He was his friend, he wouldn’t do that to him. No… They were probably just trying to get their things back.  _He was taking her to their hotel room._  No.  _She was taking him to her hotel room._  NO! Now he was freaking himself out. There was nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.

________________________________________

You walked with Harrison around the city. Your sandwich was now gone. A conversation about nothing really was going strong. It was unbelievable how casually you could talk with Harrison. He was such a nice guy with a sense of your humor that just kept you laughing.

Neither of you was keeping up what time it was. You might have been walking for hours through the streets until you reached the entrance to Central Park. There you walked on for even longer. The sun rose to its full potential but the clouds kept hiding the warmth away. This gave the park a grey hue and made everything look much colder than it actually was.

You walked parallel to Harrison. Close enough to feel his presence but not enough to actually touch him. From time to time, your hands would share a brief moment but that ended when he put his hands in his pockets. You decided to do the same. As usual, your hands had been freezing without you even noticing it. They soon defrosted in the warm surrounding of the material of his jacket.

You just ended one of the few small conversations that you had during the stroll. Now you just walked along each other in silence. Sometimes you would glance at him and he would give a smile. One of those smiles that were small but still showed all the happiness in him.

Your eyes were still on him when he looked away. His own eyes widened in panic. Before you could look for yourself what was going on, he grabbed your waist and pulled you into him. Something hard bumped into your back and pushed you even more into Harrison. Your bodies were fully against each other. His eyes traced over your face, lingering at your lips. But maybe you saw that wrong. Yeah, that was it because he just as quickly looked away and let go of you. You got the same feeling in your guts as if you were going down on a roller coaster.

“Are you okay, love?” You wanted to respond that you were fine but realized he wasn’t talking to you. Instead, his attention was on a woman sitting on the ground wearing skates and all the other safety equipment. Harrison walked up to her to help her get up. It went a little wobbly as she had wheels under her feet but after a moment she was standing.

“Yeah, I’m good.” She had said in the meantime, “I still don’t really know how to break properly on these things.” The woman looked down at her feet. You noticed how her arm was holding on to Harrison’s bicep. The way he smiled reassuringly at her made your face turn pale. You didn’t want to look at it.  _But why?_ There was nothing wrong with what was going on in front of you. There was nothing going on  _between you and him_ , that was for certain. Then why were you feeling jealous? Jealous? No, you weren’t jealous, were you? This wasn't…

“Well, I’m really sorry for bumping into you,” the woman let go of Harrison and your muscles relaxed ( _Dammit_ ). “And for interrupting your date.” You shared a quick look with Harrison. His cheeks were pinker than you remembered. Before he opened his mouth you chimed in. “No, this isn’t a date. We’re not-”

“I’m sorry. You two just look so cute together,” she said, but her eyes were all over Harrison. That sick feeling in your stomach was coming back. You didn’t like it. Not at all. It only got worse when the woman smiled sweetly at him, so sweet you thought any other person would throw up from the sugar rush and said: “Could you maybe push me, my start isn’t so great either.”

The expression on his face wasn’t exactly readable. His Adam’s apple went up and down. He still had a smile on his face, but it didn’t feel very genuine. That made you feel a bit better.

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” he placed his hands on her waist. You noticed how gentle he was. He gave her the tiniest push but it was enough to send her off. She yelled out a “thank you” before she was too far away for you not to hear her. Harrison shook his head, laughing under his breath, and turned back to you. “So, where were we?”

“I don’t think we were anywhere.” You shrugged. He took the few steps back to you and so you continued your walk around the famous rectangle park. As it was the middle of the week and still rather early, there weren’t many people around. Mostly just mothers with strollers, dog walkers and elderly couples. It gave the park a nice atmosphere for sure.

You walked all around The Lake, starting and finishing at the Bethesda Fountain. All of the time just spend talking and laughing. In the few hours you spend listening to him, you really felt like you got to know him. He really was the sweet, handsome and caring guy that his social media portrayed but he was so much more. He wasn’t Harrison Osterfield, Tom Holland’s best mate. He was truly his own person and the more stories of his you heard, the better you could see that… and you were really glad you were.

“What now?” You sat down next to him at the steps of the fountain. The water fell in a light drizzle on your backs as the wind blew.

“What do you mean?” You were looking down at your feet. They were stretched out in front of you, giving you a good look at the sweatpants you were wearing. Self-consciousness flooded over you. The trousers were a slim fit, showing off your legs nicely, but you felt like you should be wearing something nicer. Not sure why, since Harrison was wearing a comparable outfit to yours. Of course, he pulled it off while you looked… not great.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but I like spending time with you.” his voice was smooth, deep and melodious. Already at the sound of it you started to feel weak, so when the words he had just spoken connected to your brain, you were a puddle next to him.

“I- I like spending time with you too.” You really did. A bit too much probably. “But I should probably head back.”  Harrison had also been looking straight ahead of him. When you told him you had to leave his head shot in your direction.

“What? Why?” the confident voice you had listened to for the last few hours was now… sad? Disappointed? Something in between.

“I got an important presentation tomorrow at work. I should probably start preparing myself for it.”

“Right, right. What is it that you actually do?” Now you were also looking at him. Not to stretch out your neck too much, you turned your whole body a little, causing your knees to bump into each other. You immediately scooted a bit back.

“Oh, just boring corporate things. I’m hoping to get out of it soon. Do something more… interesting.”

“Interesting like what? Anything specific in mind?” You like how curious he was about your life.

“Not really. That’s why I still wake up every morning to go to work in my little cubicle.” you laughed sadly.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad. I mean, they send you to New York for two weeks.” And just like that, you spend another good half an hour talking at the foot of the fountain. Then, fighting every sense in your body that told you to stay, you got up. Not even a beat later, he did the same.

“You are not leaving me here behind, love,” he smirked.

“I’m not?” You wanted to sound confident. You had no idea if it actually worked. Harrison continued looking at you that certain way that made you hitch your breath and the hair on the back of your neck stand up. He shook his head and the curls that head formed on top of it because of the moist air bounced along from side to side. “Na-ah. I’m coming with you.”

“To my hotel room?” You questioned. For a few seconds, he didn’t say anything. Maybe because he didn’t think through what he had been insinuating before.

“Yeah, then I can get my stuff back maybe.” He managed to save the conversation. “And then we can go to my place to grab yours. Or if you don’t want to, I can come over some other time and bring it to you… or we can-”

“Harrison,” you stopped him by putting your hand on his shoulder. He looked at your hand and then at you, a bit surprised. “It’s okay. Your first idea sounds great.”

"Okay, cool. Then let’s go.”

________________________________________

There was no clear thought on his mind when he suggested walking with her to the hotel. None at all. He just didn’t want her to walk alone in the city. She had told him what happened to her the day before. Not in many details but Harrison thought he filled in the gaps for himself pretty well. He just… wanted to make sure she was safe. It was the least he could do. But then she asked him, oh so, nonchalantly: “To my hotel room?”  And he didn’t know if it was the way she spoke or because of how she was looking at him with those big bright eyes of hers-  he just knew that suddenly he really wanted to go up that damn room of hers. There was just no way he could say that.

“Yeah, then I can get my stuff back maybe.” That sounded so stupid. Worst excuse ever probably. So he started to ramble like a complete idiot. He didn’t know if he was turning red, but his face certainly felt hot. The heat only grew when he felt the weight of her hand on his shoulder, almost on his chest. He hoped she couldn’t feel how fast his heart was beating. It would just make everything so much more difficult.

Everything after that happened so fast. They walked away from the big fountain and before his mind even had the time to think straight again they were already at the door of Hotel Elysee. She lead him inside. Harrison noted how she greeted the doorman. With a big smile on her face and her eyes sparkling. He himself, only nodded to the older man as he walked by. It’s what he always did. It usually felt like enough but after seeing (Y/N) interact with the man, he had the feeling that he should be doing more. Especially since a big amount of his life recently, is being spent in hotels.

Harrison followed (Y/N) without much thought until she halted abruptly. She practically froze.

“Something wrong?” Stupid question. He could see it on her face that something was wrong. She was biting the inside of both her cheeks. Her eyes locked on the elevators in front of them. She only blinked when he spoke to her.

“No, sorry. It’s just that uhm, the elevator is broken.” Harrison eyes down the two pairs of metal doors ahead.

“Both?”

“Well no, just one. But the mechanics are all connected aren’t they, I wouldn’t trust it.” She was still looking at the elevators. Her rosy cheeks were turning white now. The sparkle in her eyes fading. Harrison gently took her hand, but she flinched and pulled away. He took a step back. “Sorry.”

“No, I… it’s my fault. I just-”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it. After all, we don’t know each other that well.” She was looking at him now. Her eyes sparkling again but for all the wrong reasons. It was the tears that were reflecting in the chandelier light. Harrison didn’t know what to do. What would be appropriate for him to do? He had a slight idea where this was coming from. It was all fault of that dickhead. She told him

“Thanks.” her voice was sad, but at least the tears had stopped. “Can we just take the stairs?”

“Yeah of course.” To his surprise, she first took a step towards him and grabbed his hand before walking in the direction of the stairs, It wasn’t many floors that they had to go through. All the way up, their hands stayed intertwined. Only when they were one case away from her floor, did she stop. Harrison could only look at her as she grabbed the handrail and sat down on the stairs. All this time he had been walking behind her, so he hadn’t seen the few tears escaping down her cheek.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey,” he squatted in front of her. She was sitting two steps above him, which gave them the perfect balance to look into one another’s eyes. Harrison felt bold and wiped away the tears with his thumb.

“I’m being so stupid,” she broke down in his hands. “I can’t even go into a fucking elevator without- God, I’m pathetic!”

“No you’re not.” she had closed her eyes and kept mumbling things to herself, her hands shaking, but when he said those small words she stopped. Her mouth was open just a little to show her surprise.

“But I… and the…”

“What that asshole did to you yesterday-” he didn’t know how to phrase what he wanted her to know, ‘It is only normal for you to feel uncomfortable now. What happened has nothing to do with how strong or weak you are. If anything, it probably only makes you stronger.”

“It really doesn’t,” she gasped for air between little sobs.

“It really  _does_.” She blinked slowly, letting one more tear fall. Just like the other ones Harrison wiped it away before it reached her jaw. The bottom of her lip quivered but at the same time, she managed to pull out a tiny smile. “It’s gonna be okay. You’re gonna be okay.” She nodded. He saw her eyes look down. He wasn’t sure where she looking at. Possible at his lips, but that couldn’t be right. She was probably looking at the ground. But then she started to lean in. Out of shock, Harrison moved back, losing his balance. He fell backward, taking her with him. The two of them fell on top of each other on the landing between two staircases. Harrison didn’t move. He was scared he hurt her in some way because she didn’t move either nor did she say anything.

The worry fortunately washed away when he heard her laugh. She got off of him, still laughing hysterically. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, you?” he asked back when they were both on their feet.

“I’m good. How about we go get your stuff.”

________________________________________

“AND…CUT!” The camera’s stopped rolling and the extra lighting turned off. Tom’s shoulders relaxed. Some people on set tried to congratulate him on the good stunt he had just performed, but his mind was blocking it all out as he made his way to his trailer. He just wanted to get out of these clothes and back into his own.

After a long day of filming, he couldn’t wait to get back to his hotel room. Just fall into his comfortable bed and sleep. Yes, sleep sounded like a good idea. Just no dreams. He didn’t want to dream. Just get stuck in that level of unconsciousness where his body and mind would be at rest. Where there would be no stress about work, no paparazzi or gossip, no crazy fans, no (Y/N)…

“Hey, Tom.” Zendaya knocked on his trailer door. He was sitting on the couch, staring into the black abyss of his turned off tv.

“What’s up, Z.” he used the last bit of energy he still had in him to answer with a smile.

"The guys wanna go out for some drinks, we wondered if you wanna join.”

“No thanks, I just wanna sleep.” To express his exhaustion, even more, a yawn escaped him.

“Oh yeah, take it, easy bro, I’ll see you later then,”

“Yeah, bye,” Another yawn. Tom grabbed his jacket and made his way out to the car that could take him back to the hotel.

________________________________________

After getting Harrison’s things, you walked back out of your suite and now it was your turn to follow him to the hotel he was staying at with Tom.

“I can’t believe it that it’s literally just two blocks away,” you commented with a giggle as he opened the door to the room.

“Yeah, Tom nearly broke down when he found out.” This confused you.

“What do you mean?” He turned around.

“Yeah, well, you had my phone, so we thought we could track it. We actually went out this morning to your hotel but you weren’t there. Besides, you’re not checked in at your own name, so…”

“Ah, yeah, sorry. The room is under my company’s name.” He watched him put the keycard down at a small table next to the door and walk to the kitchenette that was in the suite.

“Noted.” he laughed casually, “would you like something to drink? Or eat maybe?”

“A beer?” You were a bit unsure as to what he would think of you for asking for a beer but that feeling went away when you saw him pull out to cold bottles out of the fridge.

“Is this fine or would you like me to pour it into a glass?” He was ready to get two tall glasses out of a cupboard.

“This is great, thanks.” You walked up to him and he opened the bottle for you.

“Well, that’s a shame. I am an expert pourer, you see.”  

“I guess you’ll have to show me next time then.” you clinked your bottles and both took a swig from your drinks. The alcohol made its presence in your body quickly. The burning in your throat was not unfamiliar and you welcomed it after the week you had.

“Right, so your stuff should be here somewhere.” Harrison walked around the room before he disappeared behind a door. In the meantime, you did your own little exploring around. Their suite was larger than yours, then again, they were with two… not to mention their budget was a whole different story. In the end, you didn’t want to be too nosy so you sat down on the couch.

“Here it is.” Harrison appeared again, your backpack and jacket in hand. You became aware again that you were still wearing his so you took it off, it was getting warm anyway.

“Thank you,” you said as you put down your bottle in front of you and grabbed your belongings from him. He sat down next to you. You could feel his eyes on you as you went through your things. There they were, your passport, your wallet. You pulled them out.

“Oh shit,” Harrison gasped at the sight of the object you were holding, “I’m so sorry. Tom was right, I really hadn’t thought that through.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry-”

“I made you live out there for an entire week without a wallet,”

“Or charger,” you mumbled. Harrison did a double take in disbelief. “Fuck, I am really, so sorry.”

“It’s fine. Honestly. I had a credit card on my phone so it wasn’t the end of the world. Besides, I technically stole your phone. I should be sorry.” You tried to make him feel better and were glad to see it worked. Harrison relaxed a bit.

“It probably did me good to get off my phone for a while.” A low chuckle left him. You felt like you were staring again so you looked away into your backpack. For some reason, your book wasn’t in there.

“Hey Harrison,” he looked at you, but you were still looking into the black hole, “Did I have a book packed in there?”

“Oh yeah, it’s uhm… it’s right here.” He leaned over you. He towered over you with his whole body. You could smell the same woody floral scent that lingered on his jacket. You held your breath. Why did he have to smell so good? It was intoxicating. You felt the magnetic pull towards him when he pushed himself off. He sat back down next to you, but much closer, with the book in his hand.

“Yeah, sorry, Tom was reading it.” he gave it back to you.

"Why- was he reading it? Did you guys go through my stuff?”

“No! God no! It was me- well, I didn’t really go through your stuff. I know it was wrong of me. I was just… curious.” his fast rambling slowed down when he looked into your eyes.

“It’s fine,” you put the book into your backpack. It wasn’t like you had anything important in there anyway.

“No, it’s not. I shouldn’t have done that. It wrong and weird. I don’t wanna creep you out. It was Tom actually who put me to my senses, funnily, because he-” Then his voice vanished. It was quiet. Neither of you spoke. How could you when your lips were attached to his. The kiss was just that, a kiss. Lips on lips. Not really moving. But there was something more to it. Would it be what some called passion? You wouldn’t know. When you pulled away, he finished his sentence, a bit hazed “-he really likes you.”

“I- I like him too.” You did. You did like Tom. That’s why you had been fighting whatever this feeling towards Harrison was all day long. But now you broke the dam and there was no way of closing it.

“I think  _I_ really like you.” His blue eyes were glazed with confusion. Confusion towards you, towards himself, towards this whole situation. Something gave you the impression you had the same confusion written over your own face because it definitely was how you felt.

“I think I really like  _you_  as well.” Your knees were touching. His hand was right next to his leg on the couch and yours was just far enough to brush the tip of your fingers against his. You moved your hand just a little bit so you could hook your fingers together.

“We shouldn’t be doing this.” You whispered as his eyes wandered from yours down to your lips just to go back up to your eyes again. That little action send shivers down your spine because you knew what it meant and you knew he shouldn’t be doing it… but you found yourself doing exactly the same- looking at his lips as he spoke the words.

“We really… shouldn’t.” But he was so close to you that you felt the air coming out of his mouth as he spoke. You looked into his eyes and at the same time, he looked into yours. Those irises that were the same blue as the sea after a storm had you locked. They were the last thing you saw after you closed your eyes. Did he do the same? No idea. You were too occupied by the feeling of his lips against yours one more time. It was nothing like you had imagined. Well, you had never imagined being in this situation. It was never Harrison who you thought would be kissing you. But now that it was happening, all the feelings and thoughts saying that this was wrong disappeared.

He had just put his hand on your cheek as yours found its way through his hair when the sound of keys jingling in the door echoed through you. Both of you knew what this meant. You should have stopped what you were doing. You should have pulled away from his soft touch. You should have… but you didn’t.


	6. The One in the Elevator

_Yeah, you used to call me baby, now you calling me-_

Tom took his phone out of his pocket and skipped the song before the first lyric even finished. Immediately a Post Malone song started which he didn’t remember the name of anymore. He stepped out of the elevator, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand. He had been up for hours with no proper break. He was exhausted and couldn’t wait to get into bed. His heart was beating along with the loud music coming from his wireless headphones. Or did the pace at which the cardiac muscle move, have nothing to do with the music?

The hallway was empty. The more he walked on, it felt like it was just elongating instead of nearing the door to his and Harrison’s shared suite. His eyelids were really starting to feel heavy. It was probably only the music that kept him up. With a little smack on the cheek, he tried to pull himself together.

The white door was finally in front of him. He pulled out the key from his other pocket and held it against the scanner. The familiar click of the lock was accompanied by the little green light appearing above the scan. Tom pushed the door open, pulling his headphones off and letting them hang around his neck. The music still played on. He could hear the whispers of it.

Next to the door, he saw something he hadn’t seen in a while. Harrison’s backpack. This meant that he got his things back. Which in correlation should mean that he had talked to (Y/N). Tom started to wonder how his best friend’s day had gone. Hopefully better than his. Or at least less exhausting. Then he realized that Harrison’s keycard was lying on the little shelf next to the door. That meant that either Haz was home or he was out and forgot his key, the div.

“Harrison?” he asked. His voice was a bit shaky. There was no response. But from the sight of his keycard and the jacket hanging on the hanger, Tom knew his friend was home. He walked on, further into the suite. The little corridor spread into the big living room area and there he was. With her.

Tom’s first reaction was to smile. To walk over to her and to say… what would he say?  _Hi. How are you? Sorry for being such an idiot for the last few days._  Or maybe  _Why did you ignore me?_  Nothing sounded right to him.

But he didn’t smile. Instead, he saw the bigger picture. He saw how close she was sitting to Harrison. He saw the little look they gave each other before Harrison smiled at him. He saw how she didn’t, that she just kept adoring his friend’s profile. He saw how their fingers were lazily intertwined on the couch. He saw how Harrison bit his lip when he glanced at her quickly and the smile they shared. He saw… everything. He wished he hadn’t, but he had seen the last seconds of when their lips had touched. It was the same moment that his heart broke into its final pieces. There was nothing left. Just dust and grains blowing around in his empty chest with every breath he took.

“Y’alright, mate?” Harrison raised an eyebrow. He brushed his free hand through his hair. It was as if they weren’t even denying what happened, though at the same time, ignoring the tension that clearly was there. Well if they were doing it, it wouldn’t be right for Tom to start acting out. He took a deep breath before answering, ignore the clear sting in his chest.

“Yeah, yeah, just tired.” He tried to laugh it off. Laughter was the best medicine after all, right? But could it mend a broken heart? Could it wash off the feeling of betrayal? He would just have to wait and see.

“Well,” (Y/N) cleared her throat, “I should get going.” She let go of Harrison’s fingers, but her hand leaned on his leg as she got up from the couch. The blonde followed her every move with his eyes and so did Tom. He really didn’t want to think like that again but pleading to himself did nothing. He watched her and only one word could come to mind.  _Beautiful_. She looked stunning. Without even trying. Just wearing sweats, no makeup, hair a bit messy. The bright smile of hers lit up the room.

Except it wasn’t to him. That was obvious. (Y/N) walked past Tom to the door. They shared a quick moment of eye contact but that was it. Just a moment. She tightened her lips in a way that was far from the beam Harrison had received. She turned around before disappearing into the corridor. “Bye… guys.” A little wave. That was it. No “Bye Tom.” No “sorry”. Just  _guys_. He was just some guy to her. It was to expect really. There was nobody to blame. Not her, not Harrison, just his own stupid high expectations. What was he thinking? Hoping the cute girl from the airport would want to go out with him after knowing him for only a good ten minutes. Pathetic.

Yes, it was to be expected. He could have seen it coming and a part of him probably already did. He had just blocked it out. Covered it by the daydreams and fantasies of kissing her, falling asleep next to her, waking up with his arms around her and their legs tangled… But that was all it was. Just fantasies. He had gone too far, too deep. To a place where dreams and reality become a blur and it starts to get hard to differentiate between them. That place in your mind where you hope that if you think about something long enough, it will come true. Well, maybe…

Harrison might have had said something. He might have even gotten up from the sofa. Tom didn’t see it. He was already back at the door, grabbing his key. The hotel hallway wasn’t empty like it was the last time. At the end of it, Tom could hear her footsteps. Leaving the door to the suite open, he started to run at a speed between a sprint and a jog. He had to talk to her. He had missed so many opportunities that if he missed out on this one he would have no choice but to give up forever. Delete her from his memory because this was not worth it. He couldn’t keep putting himself through all this pain and frustration.

“(Y/N)!” He called out. She had just stepped into the elevator. She heard him, she saw him, but she still pressed a button. “Please,” Tom caught up and put his hand in front of the closing doors to halt them. There was a twitch in her shoulders as Tom stepped inside. She was standing in the left corner next to the panel and avoiding his gaze. Not to overstep any boundaries he walked to the opposite corner of the small space and leaned against the wall.

“Hi.” He did his best to say it without any feeling. He didn’t want her to feel anything over him. No sadness, no anger, no pity. That last one was important. He just… wanted to talk to her.

“Hi.” She had her arms crossed, still looking at the ground. She wasn’t wearing the jacket he saw her in in the shop. Of course, now he remembered, it was Harrison’s jacket. The one he wore yesterday. Shaking that image off, he started talking and concentrated on the words before his mind would take over.

“I just wanted to say that,” he paused, “I don’t actually know what I wanted to say. I suppose that, that after meeting you on that plane I couldn’t stop thinking about you and this might be way too soon to tell - Hell it  _is_  probably way too soon - but I think I really like you.” He leaned away from the wall and took a step. So did she. “You don’t know how much I wished that I could see you sooner just to tell you this and I realize that it might not be the best-”

“Tom, I like you too.” She took another step forward. She was looking straight into his eyes. Tom didn’t understand. Was she saying he still had a chance? What about Harrison? He had seen them kiss just a few minutes ago. “I really do. When I saw you on that street when you were filming… my heart stopped because I thought I would never see you again. I really thought I had screwed it up.” They both chuckled because Tom was thinking the exact same thing. Tom took half a step closer to her. How much more could they keep the space between them? The elevator wasn’t exactly big. He was still feeling unsure. She said she liked him, but if she really did, why did she never call him or text him, why did she not answer his call? Why did she kiss his best friend?

“Are you sure?” Tom blurted out. (Y/N) blinked twice. Her eyelashes long and curled naturally.

“What?”

“Are you sure you like me? It’s fine if you don’t. Better get it over quickly, I suppose. No hard feelings then. I just think-” He didn’t think at all. His mind went blank. His heart (or the remains of it, at least) stopped beating. His eyes closed. All the feeling from his body gone except for his hands that found their way to her waist under her unzipped hoodie. His neck that was enveloped in her arms. His lips that were suddenly attached against hers.

With the unexpected force with which she fell on him, he stumbled backward, hitting the wall.  The elevator trembled at the hit. The whole situation was a mess. Tom couldn’t comprehend what was even happening. His mind was racing at a speed of 100 miles an hour. So fast that not even clear thoughts were forming. He just saw blurs of light in front of him. It didn’t last long though. His mind fell silent when she pulled at the back of his hair. It was a gentle tug but enough for him to groan out in pleasure. His body was refilling with energy. She was refilling him. He wanted to put it to good use. He gripped her waist tighter and with one swift move she was the one standing against the elevator. Her body pinned between his and the metal handlebar.

As time went by and their bodies stayed in touch he managed to calm down. With the kiss slowing its rushed and passion filled tempo he realized how wrong this was. Good, sweet, incredible, exciting… but oh so wrong. Because whatever had happened, those plump pink lips that were kissing the corner of his had just been doing the same to his best friend.

She pulled away when he stopped moving. He hastily scanned her face, for any sign of… remorse? Sadness? At the same time, he was looking for glee and relief. All he saw was perplexion.  Her mouth still a little agape. Her eyes looking at his lips with her eyebrows knitted as the gears in her head were turning.

“You didn’t answer.” Tom was still trying to catch his breath when he said that. Her dazzling eyes shot up to meet his. By now her arms had fallen to her sides and Tom had let go of her too. The space between them stayed small. A little too close for comfort now that Tom could think straight.

“Tom,” Her eyes were still going over every inch of his face. From his eyes to his lips, from his lips to his nose, from his nose back to his eyes. “I like you.”

“What about Harrison?” Her mouth fell open. Didn’t she realize he had seen them? Did she think he would just ignore it? As if it never happened? Was that what she wanted to do herself?  

“I - I don’t know.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “But I know that I really like  _you_.”

“So why didn’t you call me?” Tom took a step back. (Y/N) had been holding on to the handlebar. When he stepped away she let go of it and put her hands in the pockets of her hoodie.

“I wanted to call you since the first day, but my phone had died and then I lost the number…” She was talking with her hands, though they still were in her pockets. There was a rip in the lining and as she moved around something fell out. The little piece of ripped tissue slowly fell next to Tom’s feet. He picked up and wanted to give it to her, but the words caught his attention. He recognized the handwriting. He definitely knew the number that was scribbled underneath. He gave the worn-out paper back to her without saying a word. She hadn’t even noticed that something fell out of her pocket. Their fingers touched but Tom pulled away before he could feel the sparks properly. Instead, he watched her read through the words, realizing what it was that was placed in her hand. Then, she laughed airily.

“Thank god, I had been looking for it for ages,” her laugh stopped when their eyes locked. Tom didn’t know how he looked. He thought he looked pretty neutral.  Maybe that wasn’t the case. Maybe she could see the heartbreak in his eyes. The defeat and sadness dominating him from the inside.

“I’m really sorry, if I knew it was in there I would have called you the moment I had a chance.”

“Well, don’t worry about it. Nothing you can do now.” He wanted to not feel so broken. To really mean it when he tried to tell himself.  _It’s fine. Get over it. At least you got to kiss her._  It wasn’t enough. As much as he wanted it to be otherwise, it really wasn’t. But what could he do, if she didn’t feel the same for him?

“Tom, I-” Was that a beg? He would never find out because she stopped mid-sentence. “We haven’t been moving have we?” There was a silence. Indeed there was no sound of the cables moving above them. When Tom looked up he still saw the number of their floor lighting up. “Are we stuck?” She squeaked out.

“No,” Tom’s voice was emotionless. “You never pressed a button to go down.” He reached out to the panel and touched the little sphere to open the doors.

“Tom, wait.” She pleaded but she didn’t move to stop him when his feet stepped over the silvery threshold. He turned around hands in his own pockets. She looked so small. Hand over her chest, clutching onto that tissue. Neither of them moved. It was as if the elevator had turned into a glass wall. A barrier they couldn’t pass anymore.

“Call me.” He walked backward. The doors started to close between them. “You have my number.” It came out way harsher than he meant it. Her arm dropped to point at the ground. Tom wanted to apologize. Say that he didn’t mean it like that, but it was too late. The doors closed and they didn’t open again when he desperately pressed the button next to the frame of the doors.  He could run down the stairs but his legs hurt. Now that she was gone, his energy was wearing off again. He had to sleep.

________________________________________

 

You hated elevators. You really did. Nothing good ever happened in them. You hated them ever since that one fancy Christmas party at work when your dress had gotten caught in the doors. Then there was the time you had a panic attack in an overcrowded lift. Perfect for a dozen strangers to just stare at you like you were a freak. And this trip, this godforsaken trip was making things only worse. First, there was everything that happened yesterday. Wow, it only happened yesterday yet it feels like ages away.

And now everything about today was just horrible. You knew you made a mistake by choosing the lift over the stairs when you heard him call out your name. Although, if you had walked he would have probably caught up to you in a matter of seconds. It was just unavoidable.

But what did you even want to avoid? You didn’t want to avoid Tom. On the contrary, all you wanted to do for the past week was to finally talk to him again. To apologize for not calling. Yet the moment he called your name, you found yourself pressing the button to close the doors. It was the fear of facing the truth and reality. So far, everything that happened, it was more like a nice dream that you didn’t want to wake up from. You couldn’t believe you had actually met him and that he wanted to go out with you, or that’s at least what you had assumed from that note. You were scared that if you actually talked to him, it would break the magic. Something would happen to spoil it and you weren’t ready for that. Not just yet.

Then he said those words and you thought everything was good. He had said it out loud. He liked you. You aired out your own heart and admitted your own feelings. Your worries seemed to be just that, worries. Completely unnecessary. There was nothing to stress about. Until a short silence fell upon the two of you. Tom had taken a step forward and you had done the same. Then he asked it. A simple question with a very complicated answer.

“Are you sure?”  You didn’t understand what he meant. No, you understood it, just not why he would ask it. Of course, you liked him. He didn’t believe you when you told him so you needed another way to show him. You definitely found one. For the second time that day you made a very irrational choice. You had no idea what had gotten into you today. First, you kissed Harrison and now you had practically jumped on Tom. You were scared he would push you away. Yell at you that you were crazy. None of that happened. He let himself go and melt into you. His hands gripped your waist tightly, hiding under your hoodie. His hands were cold, you could feel it even through your shirt. It was an insatiable feeling. You always expected him to be warm but this was actually so much better. Like an instinct, you pulled at the short hairs at the bottom of his scalp.

The sound that escaped him made your legs shake. You were so glad you were holding on to him because you were pretty sure your bones could give up at any moment. That little groan made you melt into him even more. Then when he squeezed your side and spun you around so your back would hit the wall and the handlebar you knew you were done for. His hands went off into separate directions on your body. As one descended down your hip and leg, the other rose up the side of your torso. The only thing you could do was press your lips harder to his and run your hand through his hair feverishly.

It might have been an accident because everything was going by so fast, but at a certain moment he bit your lip and you silently moaned out. He was doing things to you, you never thought would happen inside of an elevator.

The kiss was slowing down but only in tempo. Every little feeling was still there. Until he stopped. He didn’t pull away. He didn’t let go of you. You were still kissing, his hands were still holding on to you and his eyes were closed. There was just no pressure. He seemed to have turned off.

You let go of him and he opened his eyes. Those hazel browns that you dreamt of seeing from up close again ever since you had that little taste of them at the airport. They were now scanning your face at a rapid pace. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, just a bit. Your heart was beating fast. Both from the adrenaline from what just happened but also from your fears peaking through right now. From the way he was looking at you, you could sense something was wrong. Then he opened his mouth and it all started to crumble down.

“You didn’t answer.” Your mouth fell open. Wasn’t that enough to show him that you liked him? You had said it and then kissed him like you had kissed nobody before. You thought that kiss could explain every feeling you had for him. Apparently, things got lost in translation.

“Tom,” now you were the one looking over his features. Only now you saw the fatigue on him. His eyes were surrounded by darkness. His cheeks weren’t exactly sunken in, but it looked like he was sucking them in a bit at least. The manner in which he looked at you could be described in one way: pain. He looked hurt and it hurt even more to see it. You hated it. You hated it to see him look so broken. He didn’t deserve that. “I like you.”

“What about Harrison?” It wasn’t your intention to come over as so shocked but your jaw dropped to the ground. At that moment you had completely forgotten about the gorgeous blonde that tasted so sweet and fresh like an After Eight. Your mind had been taken over by Tom. His rough but tender touch. His slightly chapped lips that mixed perfectly with your glossed ones. The way he smelled a bit like cinnamon. It was the exact opposite of Harrison but you loved it. You adored both of the boys in two completely different ways. Just in ways that you couldn’t explain just yet. All you really understood was that there was a strong inner conflict going on in your heart.

“I-I don’t know.” You knew it wasn’t what you had said to Harrison but if you would have said it, it would only make things so much more complicated. You didn’t want complicated. You wanted something simple, something easy. But McFly lied,  _love wasn’t easy_. You stuttered on: “But I know that I really like  _you_.”

“So why didn’t you call me.” You had let go of each other a long time ago but now Tom made the space between you even bigger. A cold feeling flooded over you. You put your hands in your pockets to try and stop it.

“I wanted to call you since the first day,” you explained, “but my phone had died and then I lost the number. I felt so stupid because I really wanted to talk to you again and after I lost it I was so scared. I thought…” You hadn’t noticed that something fell out of your pocket. Well, how could you if you didn’t even know there was anything in it. How could you know that there was a hole in your pocket which caused the paper to fall into the lining of the hoodie? That way you didn’t even feel it falling out. You only noticed something was wrong when Tom bucked down to pick something up from the floor.

You looked confused as he read what was written on it and then gave it to you. You were about to ask what it was but reading one word was enough for you to know. Just to be sure you read the whole thing anyway, twice. You couldn’t believe it. After all this time, the bloody note was in your hoodie all along. You let out a laugh of relief.

“Thank god, I had been looking for it for ages,” you fell silent when you saw his face. He didn’t look angry. He didn’t look sad. It was the lack of emotion that he showed that scared you. Now you truly realized how it must have been a torture to him to have his number be given to a girl and she never called him.

“I’m really sorry, if I knew it was in there I would have called you the moment I had a chance.” You didn’t want him to think for a moment that it was because of him. This was entirely your fault and you felt horrible about it. He didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve your stupid mistakes. You had to make it up to him somehow. Except it was already too late. His voice was lacking emotion and life when he spoke. “Well, don’t worry about it. Nothing you can do now.” The shrug he gave you made your heart break. He tried to play it off casual as if it wasn’t bothering while the truth was it hurt did hurt him. You understood it too. He didn’t want you to feel bad for him. He didn’t want you to blame this on yourself. Well, you were already doing that since day one.

You had started to apologize again. He had to know how you feel about him. You wanted to have more with him. You wanted to get to know him. From the kiss, it was clear that he wanted it too. There was no way that would ever happen if you got off on the wrong foot like that. But your desperate attempt at another sorry fell short when you felt it… or actually, when you didn’t feel it. It was so quiet for a second that you took in your surroundings. Now, some lifts were slow, but you had been in here for a good ten minutes. There was no way that it took you so long to go downstairs.

“We haven’t been moving, have we?” Your breathing quickened as you answered your own question. You haven’t moved. There was no pit in your stomach like usual when you descended. You were stuck in this little space now. You tried not to freak out. You felt even worse when you saw that Tom didn’t feel bothered by it. He looked up, to see that the little screen displayed the number of the floor on which you were on, then he glanced at the panel of buttons.

“No, you never pressed a button to go down.” You didn’t. All the buttons were dark. Tom’s hand reached out and you expected him to press the button to the lobby, but instead, he went for the two arrows that opened the door. Did he want you to come with you? That question was answered when he just stepped out, leaving you in the elevator.  _He didn’t._

“Tom wait.” You wanted to go after him but your feet were stuck to the ground. It felt like your shoes were made of concrete. All you could do was concentrate on breathing and clutching that paper closer to you.

Tom turned around a few feet away from the lift. Neither of you moved or said anything. He looked at you, probably expecting you to be the first person to make a move. You wanted to but no words left your mouth. You did your best to push out a single syllable but nothing came out. It hurt.

A little  _ding_  filled your ears and the doors started to close in front of you. It seemed to go in slow-motion. You looked at Tom with all the desperation you could find within you. Then he opened his mouth. “Call me. You have my number.” You couldn’t pinpoint what it was specifically but the overall feel of his words crushed your heart. Your arms couldn’t stay up any longer. They dropped in defeat the moment the doors touched each other. You were all alone now. There was only you and your contorted reflection in the metal doors. Another click as you pressed the little  _0_  to go down. Your finger stayed on the number all the way until the doors opened again to let you out. You felt too weak to move. There wasn’t enough energy in you to even wipe away the single tear that rolled down your face.

Why did you have to be so stupid? Why did nothing in your life ever work out? Why did you have to such a failure? Why did you have to make everyone around you miserable? Even the people you barely knew.

The sunlight coming through the big windows in the lobby mocked you. It was so bright and cheerful. You didn’t deserve that and you knew it.

Only a few steps away from the door when you realized something. _You didn’t deserve this_. And neither did Tom. From what you understood, the last week had been a torture for the both of you. It shouldn’t be like that. It wasn’t worth it. Love might not be as easy as all the songs and movies made it out to be, but it sure as hell shouldn’t cause someone this much pain. Especially if you weren’t even together.

This realization was like a weight being lifted off your shoulders…  _shoulders_.  _Weight_. Your shoulders did feel exceptionally light. You were missing something.

“Shit.” You said a bit too loud, receiving a few glares from the people around you. You didn’t care. You deserved those looks for your stupidity alone.  How could you have left your backpack in their room?

With a frustrated groan you walked back to the elevators.

________________________________________

 

“Tom-”  Harrison got up from the couch. He hoped to explain everything that had happened. But could he even do that? Did he actually know what happened? He certainly didn’t understand any of it.  

Fortunately, he didn’t even have a chance to say anything else. Tom turned around and followed (Y/N)’s footsteps. Harrison was still standing there in the middle of the room when the door smashed closed. He was alone. It didn’t feel like it though. He could still… feel her somehow. He still tasted her chapstick on his lips. The smell of her fresh shampoo was still infused into him. The feeling of her lips and her soft fingers ghosted over his skin, giving him goosebumps.

They kissed. Right there on that couch. Just a minute ago. It really happened. The first time their lips met it didn’t feel real. He thought he had imagined it, but no, it happened - twice. He wasn’t sure which kiss was better. Was it actually right to compare them like that? Wasn’t it weird? Probably. But so was the rest of this day. He tried to slowly go through all the events of the morning.

There had been this tension between them ever since he saw her in the shop. He had tried to concentrate on her face instead of what she was wearing - his jacket covering the same hoodie she wore the day they met as an added layer between her own clothing that just fit her so well. His attempt didn’t help. Her face was already enough for him to fall down the trap. Tom was right. Her eyes really were that sparkly. Her smile was pure and joyful. Her hair looked as soft as her skin and lips… wait, Tom never said any of that. Where did all of this come from?  In the middle of the living room, he shook his head.

He had to get a grip. All of this was so wrong. As amazing as the kiss was, he shouldn’t have done it. He should have pulled himself away. It was clear from Tom’s face that he saw what had happened. From the way he looked between them the hurt was clear. Harrison cursed himself  He had been so egoistic this whole morning. He had not even thought of Tom for a minute. He had pushed the feelings of his best friend away to benefit himself.  _Was it worth it?_  No. They had promised each other a long time ago that no girl should ever come in between them… but promises break sometimes and…And nothing happened yet. They only kissed and it would never happen again probably. Not to mention, (Y/N) wasn’t even his girlfriend. She was a crush. And crushes pass. Yes, it happened all the time.

Tom walked in and Harrison took his chance. He had to say everything now before he forgot anything. He had to mention every argument for his own case. To prove to his best friend he wasn’t the bad guy. No one was. This wasn’t as easy as to just point at someone and give them the blame. First of all, there was nothing to blame for.

“Tom,” He had been walking in the direction of the kitchenette. Ignoring Harrison completely. He opened the fridge and pulled out a beer just like Harrison had done minutes before for himself and (Y/N). In the end, they didn’t even drink half of it.

“Tom?” He tried again. The pop of the bottle cap echoed through the room. Harrison stared at his friend. He didn’t look the best. There were dark circles under his eyes. The hand that wasn’t holding the bottle was tapping on the counter rhythmically. His hair was disheveled in a way that no one would do themselves. There was some kind of glow on his face. It was mostly faded by sadness but it was definitely there.  “Did you kiss?” Harrison had not thought about it before he asked the question. Tom pulled the bottle from his lips and put it down.

“So what if I did?” He was still not looking at him. Just fumbling with the label of the beer.

“Just a bit soon, isn’t it? You don’t even know her.” The moment the words escaped him, Harrison realized he shouldn’t have said that. Tom’s eyes shot up, throwing daggers.

“Oh, but it’s fine for you to kiss her? What, you spend half a day with her and suddenly you’re her boyfriend? Although after what I saw-”

“Mate, I can explain.” Harrison sighed. He didn’t want to fight. From the look on Tom’s face, he could see that his friend didn’t want to either. But sometimes, you have to.

“Explain what exactly? Why you kissed her while you knew that I liked her?

“Tom.”

“Or do you need to explain how you lied to me yesterday? Honestly, what the fuck happened on the street when you ran after her?”

“What the fuck are you talking about now?” Harrison didn’t know when, but he had walked over to Tom. Now only the marble counter was in between them. The anger was boiling in both men. Jaws clenched. Knuckles white. Veins prominent.

“I just couldn’t help but notice that she was wearing your jacket. What’s that all about?” Tom shrugged his shoulders as he spoke calmly this time. Harrison scoffed: “Are you serious? How am I supposed to know why she was wearing it? I wasn’t there when she put it on, was I? Are you thinking straight?”

“I don’t know what to think anymore, okay? I thought I could trust you, but there you go behind my back like an asshole and kiss her.” Harrison had never seen his friend act out like that. Especially over a girl. For what? Because he kissed her? They weren’t even dating.

“Eh, how about you check yourself mate, you don’t own her. She’s her own person and she can kiss who the fuck she wants.”

“Of course I know that you twat,” Harrison bit the insides of his cheeks and tightened his fist. He really felt the urge to just punch Tom in that perfect little jawline of his. “It’s not her I’m mad at, is it? She didn’t do anything behind my back. She didn’t kiss the person I’m in love with. That was  _you_!”  

“Oh, so now you’re in love with her, please.” Was he really gonna go that low?

“It didn’t seem to be a problem to you this morning.”

“Well, that was before I realized she deserves someone better than you.” He snapped back. Tom leaned backward in shock. He blinked a few times, staring at Harrison for a few seconds until he turned back on. Ready to continue as if nothing happened. “Don’t tell me you mean yourself.”

“Maybe I do. I don’t know. All I know is that you are too much of a pussy. You don’t even dare to get up and talk to her and still somehow expect her to fall at your feet. Well, bad news, movie star, you’re not that big of a deal. If you want to get the girl, you should have to work for it…” He shouldn’t have said that. He knew it. He knew he went too far. It was always a sensitive subject for Tom. He was always scared of fame getting to his head. It had never happened and it never felt like it would. It was just the anger in Harrison that made him say it and he was too far in to take it back. He had to keep going. Keep digging this hole in their friendship.

“And guess what? I did. I got my shit together and when  _you_  left  _I_  talked to her.  _I_  got to know her and… here’s the best part:  _She_  kissed  _me_.”

“What?” Tom completely let go of the counter. His back hit the fridge with a thud. His voice when he said the small word was quiet. Far different than from how he had spoken before. He was giving up now, but Harrison didn’t see that. He was too busy arguing, mostly with himself at this point. “She. Kissed. Me,” he said in a way that would hopefully break his heart the most. It didn’t. Tom just chuckled.

“Yeah, well, she kissed me too, so apparently that doesn’t mean shit anymore.” She kissed him too? Harrison had to take a moment to comprehend those words. Was Tom speaking the truth? Well, why would he be lying? And he remembered what (Y/N) said to him before they had kissed the second time. She admitted that she liked them both. Or so she thought at least. She had said that she really liked Tom and that she  _thought_  she liked Harrison too. What was that even supposed to mean?  Especially with the way she pressed her lips against his. It would give the impression of being a bit more sure about one’s feelings to someone else. Well, apparently not.

“So you think she’s not worth shit?”

“No, I meant  _you_  aren’t worth shit.” Tom slammed his hand on the fridge in frustration then pointed at Harrison as he took big steps forward. “And don’t you dare put words in my mouth like that.”

“You’re right. I definitely don’t deserve this shit. This whole week I had to listen to you whine and cry about her and watch you behave like an even bigger dumbass than you usually are and what do I get?  Exactly, nothing. Do you really think I’m your flunkey or something? That I will just walk behind you like a fucking minion and do everything  _your highness_ wishes for?”

“You’re my assistant Harrison. That’s what you’re supposed to do. It’s your job.”

“Yeah on set!” He rose his voice. “It doesn’t look like we’re filming a damn movie right now. I’m your best friend!”

“Last time I checked, best friends don’t steal each other’s girl!”

“Please, she was never yours, to begin with. I don’t know what you may have sniffed but it’s time to face reality.”

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?”

“That you are too late. You had your chance and you blew it.” Harrison crossed his arms. Tom clenched his jaw even tighter. So tight that Harrison expected him to break all his teeth. They had been staring at each other during the whole conversation but now Tom looked away. He laughed through his nostrils, shaking his head. When his head turned back around after a second or 5 he just said: “Fuck off.”

“Likewise, mate.” Harrison knew he won but it didn’t feel like a victory. Tom walked away. His footsteps were clunky and shook every object that lay on the table he walked by. Harrison took the other direction, into his own room. Before getting there, he made a small by-pass to the coffee table to grab his beer and (Y/N)’s. He needed more than a bottle right now. Then he noticed it. Lying on the couch, in the corner in which she had been sitting, was her backpack. She forgot to take it.

A door slammed hard. So hard it actually made Harrison jump and almost drop his drink. He glanced at the door through which Tom just walked through. With the anger still rushing through him, he grabbed the bag by the strap and slung it over his shoulder before picking up the second, more full, bottle of the alcohol. Almost chugging the rest of his own bottle he walked into his own room.

Harrison dropped the bag next to his bed, next to the side that wasn’t visible when walking into the room. He sat down on the mattress, took another swig of his drink, and started thinking of that question again.

_Was it worth it?_

_Definitely._


	7. The One on the Set

Your second time walking through the hotel corridor was much different than the first. You were alone and it felt scary. Even though you had been there before, you had literally walked here minutes ago, it felt so foreign. It was also very quiet.

The door was at the end of the hall. You stopped in front of it. Hoping that maybe the backpack would just appear. There would be no need to knock, no need for either of them to open up for you. No need for an awkward conversation if there even would be any.

But you had to get it back. You had been struggling long enough without it. And if you waited it would only get worse. Would you come back tomorrow? Probably not. It was better to do it now. Just get it over with. Face the situation you had gotten yourself into.

God, why did you have to kiss both of them? On the same day. It was nothing like you. You hadn’t kissed your last boyfriend until you were together for a month but now you suddenly kissed two guys you barely knew. This was so wrong.

Gripping on to that last bit of courage within you, you were ready to knock. Your knuckles were already on the wood when you heard it. A voice. It was Tom. He sounded angry and spoke so loud that you could hear every word of it clearly. “I don’t know what to think anymore, okay? I thought I could trust you, but there you go behind my back like an asshole and kiss her.”

“Eh, how about you check yourself mate,” Harrison’s voice was also full of anger, but it was calmer. This making it a bit harder to understand through the door and distance between you and him. “you don’t own her. She’s her own person and she can kiss who the fuck she wants.”

Everything you heard threw you off. Were they arguing? About a girl? Oh no, was it about you? No, it couldn’t be. No. They wouldn’t fight over you. That was even far-fetched if it was happening in your dreams. They were… Yes, it was probably just a script. They were just rehearsing for a role or an audition.

Something in you screamed to walk away. Not to listen, but your feet were glued to the ground. Instead of getting the hell out of there, you leaned in, trying to listen to what the two boys were saying.

“Of course I know that, you twat!” It was Tom again. The volume at which he spoke made you jump “It’s not her I’m mad at, is it? She didn’t do anything behind my back. She didn’t kiss the person I’m in  _love_  with. That was  _you_!”  Yeah, this was definitely a role. Tom wasn’t in love with anyone. Right? You ignored the sting in your heart as you listened.

“Oh, so now you’re in love with her, please.” Harrison raised his voice now too. It felt unnatural to hear him speak in a tone like that. It was full of anger. You didn’t like it. You didn’t like hearing either of them like that.

“It didn’t seem to be a problem to you this morning.” You went against all your ethics every second longer you stayed at that door. Every word you heard made you think over again how you shouldn’t be there. How you shouldn’t be standing in this hallway, listening to the two men you had just kissed… which you also should not have done.

“Well, that was before I realized she deserves someone better than you.” Those words stung and they weren’t even meant for you. It was unimaginable how it must hurt to be on the receiving end of this argument that they were having. No! The argument that  _their_   _characters_  were having. You kept on telling yourself that.

“Don’t tell me you mean yourself.”

“Maybe I do. I don’t know. All I know is that you are too much of a pussy. You don’t even dare to get up and talk to her and still somehow expect her to fall at your feet. Well, bad news, movie star, you’re not that big of a deal. If you want to get the girl, you should have to work for it…” They really were at each other’s throats. You couldn’t believe that they would actually fight like this over a girl. That didn’t happen in real life. Then it must be a script. Now there was no doubt left in you. Except for those two words.  _Movie star._  What kind of movie was this? Were they preparing for some kind of  _Notting Hill_  knock-off with a spin? A famous actor falling in love with a girl… but then his friend…  _NO!_ Your own thoughts were interluded when Harrison spoke again.

“And guess what? I did. I got my shit together and when  _you_  left  _I_ talked to her.  _I_  got to know her and… here’s the best part.  _She_  kissed  _me_.” This was getting scary. This whole thing sounded too much like today.

With a hand over your mouth, you backed away from the door. Walking until your back actually hit the wall. What did you do? This was not good. They were fighting… because of you. That was never something that was meant to happen. None of it was supposed to happen. 

This was all your fault. You did this to them. You were tearing up a years-long friendship. A dark part of you felt somewhat good. Some kind of power flowed through you at the feeling that you made both boys so smitten for you. But you knew that feeling was wrong. You shouldn’t be feeling good and most of you didn’t. You felt horrible.

Maybe you gave yourself too much credit, but there was no way you could knock on that door now. It would probably make things so much worse.

There was still yelling coming through the door but your head was so occupied with you freaking out that the sentences being shouted didn’t connect to the actual meaning. It was just noise to you.

As if they could hear you, you walked away slowly. Your back and arms still against the wall you had hit before. Your eyes stayed glued to the door. Scared that it could open any time and one of them would find you standing there in the hallway of their hotel while you were supposed to have left. Would they shout at you? You didn’t want to find out.

The shouting stopped. It was quiet for a moment until you heard a door being slammed so hard it actually made the hallway shake. You flinched right before a second door got slammed.

With a shaky breath, you stepped away from the wall. You closed your eyes, counted to three, opened them again and did the only reasonable thing to do.

You ran away.

________________________________________

Tom couldn’t look Harrison in the eyes anymore. He had to get out of there. For a moment he thought about storming out of the whole suite but that wouldn’t have been smart. Where would he go?  When could he come back?  He didn’t want to get back into the room to see Harrison and her sitting on the couch again. That image, even though nothing had really happened, had imprinted itself in his brain forever. It kept popping up in front of his eyes like this mocking specter. Making him see red from the fury inside of him.

“Fuck off,” there was so much more he wanted to tell him. There was so much more that he still wanted to spat in his face but there was no energy left in his body. He was starting to feel light headed and he was clutching on to the counter to keep himself standing up. He didn’t even hear Harrison’s last comment. He just started walking to his room.

Before falling onto the bed he kicked the door shut. It was much harder than he expected it to be but in the end, he wasn’t sad about it. Hopefully, the smash of the door could give Harrison a sense of how pissed off he actually was.

When Tom’s back hit the bed, he started to calm down a bit. The soft covers cooling his boiling skin a little. The longer he lay the more he sunk into the plush. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing. But there was something not right. It wasn’t quiet. Then he remembered he still had his headphones around his neck and they were still playing music.

Maybe that was for the better. He put them on in the hopes to just turn everything else off. Block out the rest of the world. Listen to the music and forget about everything else. Someone out there had different plans apparently.

He put the headphones on with a sigh. The song currently on was already halfway done. He listened to the chorus:  _In another life, I would make you stay. So I don’t have to say you were the one that got-_

Katy Perry? Really? What kind of shit playlist even was this? Tom tore the headphones off the top of his head and chucked them onto the chair in the corner of the room. The device bounced on the cushion and fell to the ground.

He gripped at the roots of his hair, pressing the palms of his hands into the sockets of his eyes. He was tired. So tired of everything around him.

He concentrated on his breathing. Clearing his mind slowly. It was going well. The soft pillow underneath his head felt heavenly as he started to drift off. He was calm. His head empty, ready for a good night sleep even though it wasn’t even properly dark out.

He was just seconds away from falling asleep when that wicked image popped up in front of him again. He tried everything to wash it off with some different memories but it was too late. He fell asleep with the memory of her lips on his best friend’s still fresh.

________________________________________

The next morning Harrison sat at the edge of his bed. Hair still wet from the shower. His back a bit hunched as his hands interlocked in the middle while leaning on his thighs - legs spread, one of which was bouncing up and down. He kept glancing sideways. His eyes caught the grip of the black backpack from over the bed.

The question he had been thinking about all night still swimming around in his thoughts.  _Should he give it back?  Should he wait until she comes to pick it up herself?_   God, what he should have done was get her number yesterday.

What even was exactly so hard about this? He could just go and bring her the damn thing. It wasn’t hard. Her hotel was only a few blocks away and he knew where her room was. He would be done in twenty minutes. If his nerves would really get the better of him he could find that bellboy he and Tom talked to before.

Yes, this  _was_  easy. The only thing that was making it hard was standing in the kitchenette. Last evening they came really close to hitting each other and if Tom found out he was going to see her again, punches would probably be thrown around.

Frustrated, Harrison got up to find a shirt for the day. While looking through the different options he kept thinking. Thinking about the fight from earlier. It was really unnecessary. Why would he have to be blamed for everything? Out of all three of them, he carried the least blame on his shoulders.

He didn’t do anything wrong. He had asked Tom in that shop if he should come with him to set. Tom said that he should stay. So he did. (y/n) wasn’t feeling well so he stayed with her and tried to brighten her day. They didn’t know each other but already at the airport did Harrison sense that she was a great girl and would be fun to hang out with. Which came to be completely true. He couldn’t remember the last time he had that much fun on a date. 

 _Date?_  It wasn’t a date. He shook his head as he eyed two shirts. A navy t-shirt and a loose washed out red, long-sleeve. He decided on the red one.

It was all Tom’s fault. He was a div that didn’t have any guts. None of this drama would have happened if he just asked her out himself. Then Harrison could have just stayed out of it and let them be. But now all of this fucking shit was going on. He had lost his backpack, and jacket for half a week shared a kiss with (y/n) - a girl he barely knew - and now was in a huge fight with Tom because he kissed her too.

He threw the shirt on, buttoning it all the way up. And now he had to get the backpack back to her. Could he just walk out the door with it? Not tell Tom. Or maybe actually just tell him. He started to give fewer and fewer fucks about what his friend would think with every button he closed. He looked himself in the mirror. Yeah, this afternoon, after work, he would just get the bag and take it to her. Screw Tom. Screw all this complicated shit. They had fair chances now.

As he ruffled his hair, he started to think. Actually, they always had fair chances. They both knew her for the exact same amount of time and technically,  _technically_ , he knew her longer. Tom was asleep when she walked up to their seats in that plane. So what, maybe Tom developed feelings for her faster but Harrison actually got to know her. He was playing his cards well while Tom didn’t even know what game they were playing in the first place.

He pulled his hand away from his damp curls and dried off on his trousers. He looked presentable for a movie set. After one more check in the mirror, he finally stepped out of his room.

Tom was drinking a cup of coffee at the counter. Only a pair of sweats hanging low off his hips. Even though he had slammed the door to his room quite early on in the evening and didn’t come out anymore, he still looked tired. When Harrison stepped out, he only glanced at his friend before returning his gaze to his cup.

“Well, good morning sunshine,” Harrison said while sinking down into the sofa facing the kitchenette. Tom didn’t reply. He put the cup up to his mouth and while drinking put up his middle finger before turning away. Harrison rolled his eyes.

“Seriously Tom, how old are you? First fighting over a girl and now you’re ignoring me?” Still no answer. “Fine whatever. Do you need me on set then or can I stay?”

“Why? So you can go off to (y/n)?” Harrison could just say yes. Tell him the truth and see what happened. It was incredible how one short word like that held so much power.

“No.” He went for the lie. “I just don’t see a point in me going to set if you’re gonna ignore me.” There was a long-held silence in the room. Harrison took out his phone and was scrolling through Instagram. Tom was still turned around. They didn’t look at each other or say anything for a while. Then Tom left to his room to probably get a shirt.

When he walked back, he was in midst of pulling a white shirt over his head. Just a simple white T, nothing special. It fit perfectly with his basic grey sweatpants. Of course, it didn’t matter what Tom decided to wear for the day. The moment they would step a foot on set, the costume department would drag him off to that giant tent with his Peter Parker flannel-under-sweater combo.

Still not exchanging a single word, Harrison kept looking at Tom as the brunette looked for his phone, wallet and any other basic necessities to put in his bag. Every morning was the same routine. Why couldn’t he just leave them in the bag?

Once ready, they headed out. Down to the hotel lobby and outside, where that black car stood waiting outside for them just like every day before.

________________________________________

Usually, the two boys used to take the back seats together. Both sitting on the sides, against the windows, with their bags in the middle. But when they got to the car, Tom was left a bit surprised when Harrison opened the passenger door and sat down next to the driver’s seat. With a sigh, he got into the back of the car. The large leather feeling uncomfortable now that there was so much space.

Tom had fallen asleep early the day before but that only caused him to awaken in the middle of the night. It was pitch black in the room. He had still been wearing his clothes he had on that day, so he sat up and pulled his shirt off, just to throw it away somewhere into the black void of his temporary bedroom.

His still heaving chest felt pressured with every deep breath he took. His heart was beating fast and he could feel cold sweat all over his forehead and exposed back. His hands were clammy. That’s what fucking dreams do to you. They adapt your deepest worries into a momentary reality and turn your whole world upside down. Only for you to then wake up with anxiety.

With his hands in his hair, he fell back again. He could have closed his eyes but there wouldn’t be much difference in the result. He couldn’t see anything else anyway. The pitch-black being a perfect canvas for his imagination. It was really the only thing he could see in front of him. It had burned itself into his eyes and that dream only made it worse. Now, not only did he see them kiss on the couch, his horrible subconscious imagination made him see them do everything else.

In the silent darkness, he lay there. Wide awake. Ready for sleep to take him again but unfortunately, that train was canceled. He was left to his own thoughts.

_Thinking -  viewer discretion advised._

It was a dangerous game to play, being left alone with your own mind. Nobody to stop you from spiraling down the rabbit hole. No one out there to close the gates, letting all the demons out.

Maybe Harrison was right. He was still a dick, but he had a point. Tom really was behaving like a dumbass the last few days. He had been obsessing over this girl but not taking any chances to actually get to know her. He hadn’t asked her out.  _Harrison did._  He didn’t run after her.  _Harrison did._ He didn’t talk to her in that deli.  _HARRISON DID!_ The only thing  _he_  did was run away. Always scared of rejection, having no nerve to do something himself. It would have been so much easier if he had just done it. Because there was really no reason why Harrison had to be involved in all of this. He was just being a good friend to Tom and tried to help him… and Tom had to go fuck it up.

But that wasn’t even the biggest reason for his anger towards his best friend. It was the betrayal that made him want to scream. He knew - feelings are feelings and there isn’t much you can do about them. If (y/n) liked Harrison then Tom would have to live with that. It would hurt and it would be a long process probably, just like any heartbreak, but it was something he would just have to do.  Move on eventually.

It was the fact that Harrison knew all of this. He knew how much Tom liked her he heard Tom talk about her this whole week and yet he still wiggled himself in between them like the snake he was.

“Fucking hell, mate, get up.” the door next to him abruptly opened. Tom had been so consumed by his thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed how the car had made its way through the early morning traffic of New York City and arrived at the filming location - the same street they had been filming on for the last few days. Apparently, they had been standing there for a moment and Tom was so zoned out, he was just sitting there, staring blankly ahead of him. Harrison had to open the door for him, unbuckle his seatbelt, and pull him by the arm out of the car.

Tom tugged himself away from his grip. “I got it.” He leaned back into the car to get his bag and then walked by Harrison without giving his  _friend_  a second look. Again, he was right before. He was behaving like a child. But why was that so wrong? Why couldn’t he act a little childish sometimes? With such a busy schedule, always working. If not on set, then he was preparing his next auditions. Always on the go. Always traveling from one place to another for filming or press tours or conventions… when was the last time he had a proper holiday? He couldn’t remember? He just couldn’t catch a break.

He needed a break.

Maybe that was the reason why (y/n) kept popping up in his brain. She was different. She had nothing to do with his world. She was just a normal girl living her own life. Yeah sure, she was a fan, but when she saw him she didn’t freak out, didn’t harass him for a picture or an autograph… on the contrary, it was basically him and Harrison that asked her for a picture.  

It had been years since he was in a proper relationship. The media found it endearing. No dating also meant no drama. Of course, there was no way of avoiding  _all_  rumors, but that was it.

And yes, the single life was great. Parties and nights out were fun, but that was not what Tom wanted. He wanted someone he could spend hours talking to. He wanted someone he could spoil. Not only with flowers and dates and expensive gifts or whatever, but with kisses and hugs and love. He wanted to have something to come back home to after all that traveling. A kiss good night. A kiss good morning. A kiss without reason. He wanted something special and when he saw her there was a little part of him that filled in all the blank spots in these dreams. It felt right somehow. Of course, it was too soon to tell, but Tom couldn’t deny that it wasn’t worth a shot. Who knows, maybe she really was what he was looking for.

________________________________________

You woke up on the couch. All curled up with a blanket thrown over yourself. On the table in front of you, a half-empty bottle of wine. No glass.   
When you had come back “home” last evening you were too tired and too stressed to do anything. You had grabbed the bottle out of the mini bar, sunk down into the couch and prayed to all the kinds of lords and ladies above that the hotel tv connected to Netflix. Fortunately, it did, so you spend the rest of the night drinking and binge watching Friends. You had started at home a few days before you left for New York so you could get straight back into it.

Unfortunately, the episode you had stopped at was the one with Joey’s new girlfriend. So the next hour you had to endure the plotline of two best friends fighting over a girl. If it hadn’t been for the wine and the witty writing of the show, you would have been crying instead of laughing. It was a real close call between the two.    

With a groan, you pulled the blanket off of your body only to be met with the sight of your sweats and old shirt, and you got up to the bathroom. Your back hurt from sleeping on the couch and so did your neck and head. You should have just gone to bed. But no, you just had to see how Ross went and screwed his life up again as he said the wrong name at the altar. It didn’t matter that you had seen the episodes already 10 times and knew exactly what was going to happen next, you just had to see someone be a bigger dumbass than you were.  

You stepped into the shower. The hot water fell quickly down your back. You closed your eyes for a second, enjoying the warmth.

You had taken a shower when you came back to the hotel the evening before. A really long one with that as well. You had scrubbed yourself until your skin started to turn a bit pink. The water had mixed itself on your cheeks with the stressed filled tears. You were such a fucking mess. You always knew it, but the last few days had been an extreme example of your stupidity and of course you had to curse others around you with it too.

When you got back home you couldn’t stop thinking about what you had heard. It was an overflow of information. So much yelling and shouting and all of it behind closed doors. It had been at least fifteen times that you changed your mind before you had even arrived back to the lobby of your hotel.  _Were they actually fighting or was it all acting?_  Because… it must have been. It couldn’t be true.

Of course, what did you know? You only knew them for half a day. You couldn’t even call them acquaintances. You were, basically, on the edge of a one-night-stand. You had snogged and that was it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Except, it was so much more. You had kissed them. Both of them! Even if they hadn’t been worldwide celebrities, it would have been a big deal. What kind of person does that? Goes around kissing guys she barely knows. Tells them she likes them… oh. Oh!

You forgot about that part. You had told both Harrison and Tom that you liked them. Out loud. To their faces. And what had they said? You couldn’t remember anymore. And the shampoo in your eyes wasn’t helping. You put your face under the stream of water to rinse it off.

What had they said?  Harrison had said he liked you, right? Right before he kissed you. No, before you kissed him. Keeping the facts straight. But what even where the facts?

Fact: Tom told you he likes you.

Fact: You told Tom you like him.

Fact: Harrison said he likes you.

Fact: You told Harrison you like him.

You had also told Harrison very clearly that you liked Tom and he still kissed you back. Did that mean he wasn’t bothered by it? And if you had told Tom that you liked Harrison, would he react the same? That didn’t matter. You should have just told him. You should have just been honest with him. Told him that you indeed did have feelings for both of them.

But you didn’t. You kissed both guys and then minutes later heard them shouting at each other about you… Aha! No, that wasn’t a fact. How could you know for sure? It could have been another girl that they met at a shop. Another girl that Tom didn’t talk to and Harrison did. Another girl that they both kissed with. Another girl- oh who were you kidding? It was you.

But if it really was you that they talked about - did that mean - was Tom actually…

“No.,” you said out loud to yourself in the mirror having stepped out of the shower. There was no way he was in love with you. How could he be?

You went through the things you heard through the door again. Tom said he was in love with someone. From what you understood, Harrison was fine with that until he had met the person himself. Because he what? Realized he had feelings for that person too? Thought they deserve someone better than Tom? It didn’t even seem right to think about. You couldn’t believe that they actually said those things to each other. There must have been something you missed, that you didn’t hear.

Hoping that something would come back to your memory that would bust this whole crazy idea, you dried yourself off. Because it couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t. It was that simple. You were never the girl that the guys would fawn over. Let alone guys like Tom or Harrison. You were just you. 

Good but nothing special.

Although, if it was true. if somehow they did both actually like you, maybe you were more special than you thought. A real diamond in the rough.

With a smile on your face, you got ready for work.

________________________________________

“Tom.” He didn’t answer. Didn’t even look up from the ground. Sitting in his chair, ankles crossed but legs spread, hands in his lap with fingers weaved through each other but thumbs free, spinning around themselves, he stared into nothing. People were running around, holding things, yelling at others, but ignoring him. Except for one person.

“TOM!” He finally looked up. Before him was a pair of dark eyes. “I swear Holland if it wasn’t for your fragile nose, I would have thrown this bottle at your face.”

“Ha ha ha,” he said slowly with zero spark in him, eyes fixated back on the ground. Zendaya sat down in the chair next to him. Opening the bottle she threatened to throw at him and took a sip.

“So, what’s up homeboy?” she leaned to the side to talk to him. Tom huffed out a weak laugh but said: “nothing.”

“Uh-uh, and the sky’s green.” For some reason, Tom actually looked up as if that might have been true. Of course, it wasn’t. The sky above their heads was bright blue. No cloud to be seen. It was overall a good day. A better one than yesterday for certain. There was no heavy wind which meant they could finish the scenes from two days ago. Up into the air, they would go. But before the exciting part, they were supposed to film in that building.

“Seriously dude, what is going on? The last few days you’ve been acting all weird.” She drank some more of her water. Tom finally looked at her just to be met with her eyes staring straight back at him.

“I’m fine. There is nothing wrong with me.” His phone buzzed so he took it out of his pocket. It was just a random notification that someone he followed was doing a live stream on Instagram, but he didn’t care about it. He clicked on the app to get rid of the notification and kept mindlessly scrolling through it while talking to his friend and co-star.

“Yeah? Cause it looks like you are all confused in there,” she tapped his temple, he flinched away. “Sorry, but your acting’s been a bit shaky, you can’t concentrate. You look miserable man. Not to mention -Harrison.”

“What about him?” he asked with the least amount of fucks he could actually give, still scrolling through his feed.

“Exactly. This. The whole day you’ve been acting really cold against one another and everyone on set has noticed.”

“No idea what you’re talking about.” He put his phone away. Zendaya raised an eyebrow at him, ready to challenge her friend.

“Oh really? Tell me then, where is he right now?” she crossed her arms and leaned back. Ready for a response she knew wouldn’t come.

“How the hell should I know and why should I even care?” Tom didn’t want to sound so angry. Z didn’t deserve this. But just the mention of his name made his blood boil.

“Maybe because he’s your best friend.”

“But he’s not Tessa. I don’t have to keep him on a leash. He can fuck off to anyone he wants to.”

“Anyone?” Shit, had he said that? Could he still convince her that it was just a slip of the tongue? “Tom, what happened between you two?”

“Nothing. I just couldn’t care less about where he’s off to.”

“God, Tom, I feel like your mother” she groaned and rolled her eyes far up, “So if I went up to Haz, he would tell me you guys are fine too?” Tom just shrugged. It was silent for a moment. Neither of the two actors said anything. Zendaya looked at Tom. He looked exhausted. Even with all the makeup on his face, she could see it in his eyes and the way he was sitting. His shoulders slouched unusually. He was looking blankly ahead of himself. Losing focus on what was going on around him. Instead, his eyes had fixed themselves upon a little scratch on one of the lighting equipment boxes.

He hoped that that was the end of the conversation. That they could move on and never bring it up again. Just leave him and it as it was. Unfortunately, that couldn’t happen. Just as Tom had taken a deep breath, Jacob walked up to them. The usual cap exchanged for the classic Ned Leeds hair.

“Hey brownie,” he nudged Tom, “what’s up with blondie?” Jacob looked around, looking for Harrison who ould usually be around somewhere too. It was the usual combo to see on set. They were always together.

 Tom gritted his teeth but counted to five before responding.

“Don’t know, don’t care.” He switched his phone back on hoping it would make him disappear. Maybe they would just ignore him now. Then again… has that ever worked?

“What’s wrong with Harrison?” Zendaya gave Tom a look (which he ignored) and leaned on the side of her chair. Jacob sat on Tom’s other side while he responded. As they talked he had to do his best to not just lash out at his friends while they  _literally_  talked over him about the one topic he never wanted to start in the first place.

“He’s kind of acting like a dick.” Tom scoffed at the comment.  _Of course, he was._  He was nothing more than that. Just a backstabbing-

“Just like Tom.” Jacob finished his sentence. Tom’s head shot up.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” His voice gained in pitch as he finished the sentence. Some of his Peter Parker Queens accent leaking through.

“The same that I meant before, Tom. Something is clearly bothering the both of you.” Zendaya kept looking at him in that way that made him feel even worse. Both she and Jacob were clearly frustrated with him but they still pitied him. He hated it.

“Well, I don’t wanna talk about it, okay?” It was for his own sake that he didn’t look up at his friends. He couldn’t handle their judgment filled stares. He heard Zendaya groan and practically feel Jacob’s eyes roll. Zendaya got up from her chair.

“Fine, you don’t have to tell us. I’ll just go find Harrison and I’m sure he will tell me himself what is going on.” Now it was Tom’s turn to roll his eyes. That was definitely a great plan. Go ask Harrison so he could lie his ass of and make  _him_  the bad guy.

“What are you talking about bro?” Jacob asked confused. Tom shook his head, getting out of his thoughts. Shit, had he said that out loud? How specific had he been? Could he still get out of this?

“Why would you be the bad guy? What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything. Haz did. He’s the little shit- but I’m sure if you talk to him he will try and make you wise that I fucked up and that it’s all my fault. Even though he started. I swear to god-”

“Tom!” It was both of them. Tom looked at them as if watching a tennis game, not sure who to look at. They had similar expressions on their face. Both eyebrow a bit furrowed, mouth a little agape.  _Confusion_.

“What are you talking about, dude?” He didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to involve more people in it. He didn’t ever want to bring it up again. Ignore Harrison, hopefully, get a text from (y/n) and just hope this whole mess would be over soon.

But it wasn’t good for him to keep everything bottled up. He had to talk to someone else about this. Let an outsider look at the situation. Show them that he was right! Because he was.

The groan he let out before explaining everything was long and exasperated. “It all started about a week ago when we flew over here from London.” And so he told them everything. How he met a girl on the plane. How he was too much of a coward to ask her out so Harrison jumped up and helped him. How that help didn’t really work out because it only ended in both Harrison and her not having their stuff and Tom still had no way to contact her. 

Zendaya and Jacob sat in front of him. Early on in the story had they moved their chairs up in front so they could look at him while he talked. Neither said a word throughout the whole story.

“…And I just kept seeing her everywhere. Over and over again, without a single chance to actually walk up and talk to her.” he sighed, remembering all those times, “Then yesterday Haz and I went to this deli down the block of our hotel and well, there she was.” Just thinking about yesterday gave him a headache.

“I was all ready to walk up to her but then I had to get back to set.” He looked up from the ground to look at his friends. Jacob had the facial expression of a therapist deep in thought, while Zendaya was biting her lip, probably choking on the impulse to shout out “Dumbass” at him. Completely understandable.

“So since Harrison still had to get his backpack back, I left and he stayed. I don’t know what happened for the rest of the day but when I came back to the hotel room…” he sighed for what felt like the hundredth time while telling the story. “I saw them making out on the couch.”

He was done. He couldn’t think about it any longer. Tom sunk back into the black chair. This gave Z and Jacob the sign to start talking.

“You actually saw them kiss?” Tom could only nod.

“So what happened then? Obviously, something more happened?” Zendaya nudged him on to keep talking.

“She left but I knew this was probably my only chance to talk to her, so I went after her to the elevator and… and told her how I feel.”

“And how  _do_  you feel?  Or how did you at least feel back then?” Jacob continued the interrogation.

“I still don’t know how I exactly feel, but I did tell her the truth. That I really like her.” He stopped but seeing the looks he was getting from both of them, he assumed he was supposed to keep going. “Aaand she told me she liked me too.” Jacob opened his mouth, probably to ask  _but what about Harrison?_ Tom was already one step ahead. Although before he could talk, Z already budged in,

“So she likes both of you?”

“I think so. And Harrison likes her too I guess. It’s one fucked up love triangle.” He groaned at the idea of the cliche.

“Is that why you are fighting? Because of her?” Tom looked thankfully at Zendaya, glad she kept on asking questions that didn’t force him to tell the whole story on his own.

“Pretty much.” When he said it like that it felt stupid, juvenile even. Of course, that was because it was stupid and juvenile. But it didn’t make it hurt any less. There was still that feeling of betrayal and rejection. That was certainly not the same as when he was in school. Those petty fights back then weren’t about feelings, most of the times it wasn’t even about the girl. It was just about boys being idiots. To find out who could out-do their friends.  _This wasn’t the same thing._

“No, it’s not because of her,” he corrected himself after a long silence, “it’s because of Harrison. It’s all his fault!” Both Jacob and Zendaya stared at him with wide eyes. Z had been leaning forward but once Tom had raised his voice a little she sat up straight. Her back against the rest of the seat.

“He knew I liked her. He had seen me the whole week struggling to get in contact with her and gain the confidence to do it and then he… he fucking kisses her. You guys see how it’s his fault right?” He looked at his two friends. The expressions of shocked softened into sadness and a bit of pity.

“Tom, I understand that you might feel hurt right now.” She spoke in a soft voice. “But it’s not his fault- And neither is it yours!” She added quickly, already seeing Tom’s face.

“Or hers. I do think that it wasn’t right of Haz to kiss her if he knew about your feelings, but if it is true what you told us, if he likes her and if she likes him too, then don’t you think he should also have the right to be happy?”

He knew this was gonna happen if he talked to someone about it. They would open the blinds and show him everything he didn’t want to see. That was exactly what Z was doing. Of course, he wanted Harrison to be happy. But did it have to be on his behalf? Did it really have to be one or the other? 

No matter what scenario, Tom would come out of it as the villain, didn’t he? If he did manage to win over (y/n)’s heart, he would be the bad guy for ruining Harrison’s opportunity for happiness. He would be seen as the guy that was too stubborn to let go of a crush just so his own friend could try and reach out for love.

But if it was Harrison, then Tom would be the sour and jealous one. He already knew it, he wouldn’t be able to get over her. He was screwed.

“Of course he does, but why do I have to pay for it? Do you know how fucking much it hurt to see them on that couch?” His eyes started to burn. If it wasn’t for the makeup maybe he would have started crying. He would never find out, because right at that moment, Harrison walked by. The usual earpiece and other on-set equipment in hand and in pockets.

He didn’t look angry. Had he heard what they were talking about? Tom couldn’t decide what would have been better. On the other hand, it would have been good if he had heard it. Maybe then he would realize what he had done. But if he did hear, they would have to talk about it and right now, Tom really didn’t want to talk about it. Right now… he wanted a nap.

“What’s up Haz,” Jacob said. Zendaya smiled at him. Tom did look up at the blond, but only to shoot daggers at him with his gaze. It was okay because Harrison did exactly the same. They stared at each other, in their own separate worlds. Like two neighboring countries on the verge of a war. Both ready for the battle to start, but neither brave enough to actually make the first attack. Because they knew the consequences that would come with it.

“Sorry.” For a moment Tom actually thought he was hearing an apology. How stupid of him. Harrison cleared his throat. “They are done setting everything up inside, you can head up to floor eleven. Jon said he wants to start filming in five.” and with that, he left the three actors in their chairs.

________________________________________

You walked into the building on time. Actually, with fifteen minutes to spare before the meeting would start. Maybe you even had time to grab a coffee that you knew will taste horrible, but it didn’t matter because you needed the  caffeine.

You walked through the rotating doors and were immediately shocked. You expected it to be almost empty just like the first day. That was not the case. The hall was filled with people. People that did not look like they were here to work. At least, not your kind of work.

Men in t-shirts and jeans carried around equipment down to the elevators. At least that choice was taken away from you from the get-go. The stairs it was.

You put up your guest keycard to the scanner and the green light lit up at the security desk. The woman smiled nicely at you just like the first time and you, of course, smiled back. The clicks of your heels were completely taken over by all the buzz and talk around you. You wondered who all these people were. What were they doing here?

Your feet stopped in the middle of a step. A man bumped into you and dropped something. You apologized as you turned around. He said it was okay, no harm done, as he picked his things up and walked past you. This gave you the opportunity to look through the big windows that were also the front wall of the building. The view had not changed since the last time you had been there. Except for maybe the smaller count of people. They were still filming. Did that mean that he was there too? You hoped not. The further away from Tom, from Harrison too actually, the better. 

You couldn’t think about them now. You had an important meeting to get to.

So that is what you did. Without another thought, you walked up the stairs. All the way until the eleventh floor. The stairs were in a separate corridor. Away from the main hallway where everyone walked through. Probably for this exact reason. You took a few deep breaths, straightened your jackets and smoothed out a pant leg that almost got caught under your heel. You looked at yourself in one of the reflective parts of the wall.  _You looked good._

With an exhale and a smile to yourself, you shook your head and walked out of the little stair corridor - straight into hell.

It took you a moment before everything around you connected. You thought there were already plenty of people downstairs, there were even more here. You slowly walked on the outskirts of everything that was happening, far away not to bump into anyone or break anything, but still able to see everything that was going on. You stared around until you notice a (kind of) familiar face. A woman, she was one of the assistants of the big shots you had a meeting with. Anita, was it? You weren’t sure.

She saw you walk over and with an excited smile, she signed for you to come closer.

“I guess you didn’t get the email either?” She said as she stared at the group of men lifting something.

“Uhh, I don’t think so. Remember, I don’t actually work here.” You watched with her. It was definitely a sight for sore eyes to see the men flex their muscles in the tight black t-shirts.

“Oh right, you’re the Brit. Well, I assume it would go for you too since this is where we were supposed to hold the meeting.” She pointed at the room in front of you. Through the glass walls was a group of people visible. One of them was making big gestures as if to show where everything had to be placed. For some reason, he looked a bit familiar.

“ _Were_  supposed to? What, is it somewhere else now?” You peeled your eyes away from the men to look at her. Her fiery red hair a big contrast to the white walls and her plain grey work outfit. She started to laugh.

“Haha, no, it’s rescheduled for once this is all done, so I think in two days.”

“Two days! Don’t they know that I don’t have time for that?” You wouldn’t believe it. This company was run by idiots. Why in the hell did your boss want to make deals with them? To plan important meetings while also doing…whatever this was. 

There were so many questions you had about this whole work trip but one at least got answered. Why it was  _you_  that was sent here. You didn’t have a high function in the office and it didn’t make sense for you to be sent over here. But now it did. Your boss simply couldn’t be bothered to fly here himself or send anyone else remotely important. So they chose you to work around the inadequacy of these morons.

“Welcome to the corporate world.” she huffed.

“So what now? Are we supposed to go home?” You had just climbed all those stairs for nothing then. Great.

You were about to leave but Anita(?) smiled even wider. “Ooh no, hell no, we can’t go.”

“What? Why not?” Were you actually not allowed to leave? You had no idea what was going on.

“See all these people,” she pointed around, “that’s a filming crew. They are making a movie.” She squealed and at the sound of her words, your heart literally stopped. This couldn’t be happening. Why did this have to happen to you?

“A movie?”

“Yes! And not some pathetic indy shit, from what I heard this is a proper blockbuster! And they are using our office?! Isn’t that awesome?”

“I guess it is,” you laughed nervously, suddenly on the lookout for a head of brown curls. “But I don’t get it. If they are filming, shouldn’t we be… not here.”

“That’s what the email was about. The people that didn’t see it, or saw it too late can stay and watch- and maybe even play an extra!” Wow, she was really excited. You smiled trying to show some enthusiasm, even though inside you were freaking out in every possible way. You had to get out of here. It was only a small chance that they would see you, but that small chance was already too big. You couldn’t take it.

“Why would they want some random people in their movie?”

“I don’t know.” she shrugged, “probably for it to be realistic or something. Who better to play boring corporate office workers than actual boring corporate office workers.” You saw a point in that. 

While Anita, or whatever her name was, stared in awe at everything that was happening around you, you stood there for a moment in silence. Then you sighed.

“You know what, I think I’m gonna go.” You stepped back slowly, heading back to the stairs. Anita(?) looked at you as if you had just called her newborn child ugly.

“What? Why? Are you seriously passing on a chance to see a movie being made? Maybe even be in one!”

You had to think of something. “Yeah, I’m good. I’m not the biggest fan of… movies.”

“You don’t like movies?” She raised an eyebrow. Understandable. What kind of lame excuse was that? Who doesn’t like movies?  _Think, (y/n), think._

“Of course I like  _some_  of them. But like, those really emotional ones. You know, the ones that really pull at your heartstrings and make you feel miserable at the end, but also kind of good.” you could see it in her eyes that she was confused and that put a smile to your face. “Like… The Impossible.”

“Oh, I’ve seen that one!” She clicked her fingers at you and then suddenly, let a gasp escape her. “You know what? I think the guy playing in this movie, was one of those kids.” She pulled out her phone and started searching through IMDb. That gave you enough time to punch yourself mentally in the stomach. Any movie. You could have picked any movie in the world. Titanic. Even The Notebook for god sake. But no, you had to pick that one. The critically acclaimed masterpiece staring-

“Aha, yes! It is him.” Your thoughts were interrupted when a phone screen with a picture of Tom was basically rubbed into your face. “Tom uh-Holland. Ooh, he’s kinda cute.” She said as she scrolled through the gallery of his IMDb profile. You went along and looked over her shoulder at her phone.  _Damn it, he was gorgeous._

“Eh, I don’t know. Not really my type.” You shrugged, biting your lip at the obvious lie. Anita(?) widened her eyes in disbelief as she kept scrolling.

“Girl, how- so what is your type exactly? Cause I mean, I think this,” she stopped at a still from  _Spider-man: Homecoming_  in which Tom was only in his underwear, “is everyone’s type.” You just shrugged again and let her be. You moved away to some others of your momentary coworkers.  _Ugh, you really should have learned some names the first day._

Just like the woman you had talked to before, they were all too interested in what was going on around them to notice you walk up. Which was really fine. You just wanted to disappear. Who knows, maybe in a few minutes you could sneak out without anyone noticing. If only…

“Hey, there sweetheart.” Your heart stopped for the fifth time that day. Next time, you were pretty sure, you were going to fall into cardiac arrest. You turned around and your face was immediately only inches away from his.

“Hi,” you smiled and took a step back. “Rob, was it?” Your throat felt as if it was tightening with every deep breath you tried to take. He smiled at you and it made you want to throw up. His breath stinking of cigarettes just as much as the last time you saw him. You glanced around to see all those other people standing next to you. Now you saw the impracticality of being invisible. No one cared what was happening right now.

“I was sad we didn’t finish our chat last time, you kind of,” he licked his lips in a disgusting way while chuckling, “You kind of slipped away from me.”

You took another step back, away from him. “Yeah, sorry, I had to get somewhere. Meet up with some friends.” You didn’t want to lie. It was always tricky with those kinds of creeps. They wanted to catch you lie to them. The more you spun the truth, the more material you gave him to play with. You wiped your clammy hands on your legs. The movement made him look down at you.

“You look nice.” He kept looking at you. “Although I preferred the skirt.”  _Was this really happening?_ This guy had no shame. To harass you in front of so many people. You wanted to run away and scream, but that would cause a scene. A scene which you didn’t want. The only thing you could do was keep wiping your hands off and laughing nervously.

“Haha, yeah, although it gets uncomfortable after a while. You know, the  _chafing_.” Your mind started to search for all the disgusting and disturbing words you knew. Something to throw him off and make him walk away. But you were scared that he might not be bothered by the word  _moist_ … maybe he even liked it too much.

“Yeah, I get it.” He stepped closer to you and you took another step back just to walk into a big fern. The leaves making you jump. Flashbacks from that elevator ride were coming back to you. Only this was worse. You were in an open space and still, you felt trapped. There were dozens, if not actually hundreds, of people around you and you still felt alone.

You cleared your throat. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” you didn’t bother to excuse yourself. You just walked away. Not looking back. Only forward. But he followed you.

“You’re walking the wrong way babe, here, let me show you the way.” He grabbed you by the waist and made his way to the toilets. You tried to free yourself.

“Oh, that’s really fine, I was actually going to another one. This one is always-” You had no idea where he was taking you. If it even was the bathroom. You didn’t know the building. You had no idea if there actually was a toilet in the direction you had walked, or if there was a toilet in the direction he was taking you in now. You tried to get out of his grip but it only tightened.

“Can you please let me go?” You said louder. He stopped and turned to look at you.

“Oh c’mon, I’m not doing anything.” He smiled, leaning in closer. You were ready to scream and burst out into tears. But a different voice made him pull away.

“Hey, you heard her! Let her go.” Your head shot in the direction of the voice. You recognized that voice. If you weren’t paralyzed before, you for sure were now.

Rob let you go when “Security!” was called, even pushed you off, making you stumble on your feet. Not even two seconds later two “stereotypical” bodyguards walked up.

“Is there a problem?” One of them asked.

“There sure is, Link, trash face over here was harassing this woman?”

“Is that true?” the other one asked. Rob turned on his excuse mode, probably having been forced to go through this thing before: “No of course not, I didn’t do anything. I didn’t even touch-” Link cut him off with one single glare.

“We weren’t talking to you buddy, but to the lady.” He turned his attention to you. “Miss?”

“Yes.” You wiped away a little tear. Your voice shaky as you tried to stay calm. “Sorry. Uhm, yes he-” you couldn’t make the words come together. But it wasn’t necessary. Link and his friend took Rob by his shoulders and threw him forward.

You had no idea what exactly was going on. You seemed to be in a little trance as you looked into a pair of brown eyes.

“Are you okay?” You could only nod.

“Did he do anything? Do you need a medic?”

“No, I’m good. Thank you so much. I wasn’t sure if I could stop him again-”

“Again? He tried to pull this off before?! I am so sorry, girl.” You were suddenly enwrapped in a tight hug. Then, she pulled away and wiped off the tears from your cheeks. Oh, great you were crying in front of her.  _Not embarrassing at all._

“Are you sure you’re okay, uh-”  

“(y/n).” you said, in disbelief that you were actually talking to…

“Zendaya.” She pulled you into another hug.


	8. The Other One on Set

“Z, there is nothing to talk about,”  Harrison told her as he avoided some other power walking PAs and crew members of the movie set. The two young men passed Zendaya with a great distance. Their eyes on the ground, as if they deemed themselves not worthy of a glance of the beauty.

“Okay, I know you two are fighting, but did you plan this out? I swear to god, Tom said the exact same thing.” She walked around him and stopped dead center of the hallway. All of the people around them gave Harrison toxic looks as if he was the one interrupting the flow of the room. He just smiled apologetically.

Even without heels, it was easy for Zendaya to look intimidating. Although they were about the same height,  Harrison felt as if she was towering over him. She was basically looking down at him.

“Look, I don’t know what bullshit story Tom told you this time, but I don’t have time for this.” He tried to walk past her, but Z put a hand on his shoulder.

“Dude, he told us everything.”  _Fuck_ , why did he have to involve Z and Jacob into this?  “How you two met a girl on the plane and now a week later both of you are in love with her.”

“Woah, I am not  _in_   _love_  with her.”

“But you do have feelings for this girl right?” She raised her eyebrow, her hand still on his shoulder. Harrison looked down at it until she pulled it away. He sighed.

“Yes. But it doesn’t matter because Tom likes her so obviously that means that he gets her.”  _We all have to move out of the way for the prince on the high horse,_  he wanted to add but stopped himself.

“You both are hopeless.” She put her hands up to her temples and took a moment to think through what she wanted to say. For all that time, Harrison looked at her a bit unsure, almost scared.

“Okay,” she finally opened her eyes to look at him again, “Tom does like her. He does think you are a dick for kissing her… But he also said that if you and she become a thing, he wouldn’t be the one to stand in your way of happiness.” Harrison blinked a few times. Had he really said that? After that fight, he would have just softened down? Harrison didn’t believe it. 

“At least that’s what he told me.” Her eyes scanned his face. Harrison tried to loosen his jaw but it stayed clenched. “But you, and that also includes Tom, should remember that this is not only about you two. She is also a part of this. Her feelings are also important.”

“Of course I know that.” He pulled his hands out of his pockets.

“Do you?” She raised an eyebrow, not completely believing it.

“Yes, if she picks Tom-”

“But that’s the thing, it’s not about just picking a guy.” Zendaya whisper shouted so the many people around wouldn’t start to get nosy. “This is about you and Tom coming to your senses. You have to make up and end this whole fight or you will lose her. Because believe me, if you keep this up, you definitely will.”

“What?”

“I may not know the girl. Hell, I’ve never even met her, but from what you and Tom both told me I have the impression she is pretty conflicted and whatever this is, what is happening between you two, I don’t think it will help. If anything, it will make her run away.”

“How do you-”

“Because no girl in the right mind wants to be the reason why two good friends drift apart. Not to mention it’s not just some two random dudes. This is you guys. If anything happens between you and Tom, there will be millions of girls out there ready for her. Pitchforks in hand and hungry for blood. That can scare a girl shitless.

“Now I know it’s probably not your intention. I’m sure you know better than that, but the pressure you and Tom will put on her with all this fighting and making her choose  _will_  only make it worse.” She gave him a weak smile. One that he could hardly refuse to give back. Harrison hated how right she was. “It’s not the solution.”

“So what do you think we should do?” It was so easy to say what not to do but it’s a whole different story to tell someone what to do.

“I don’t know and it’s not my place to tell you but I think that you should at least talk to Tom, and I mean  _really_  talk. I told him the same thing… Then see what happens. Feelings can go as fast as they come. Maybe-”  But he never heard the end of that sentence. Zendaya’s eyes fixed on something behind him.

Without another word, she walked away. An expression of anger and worry on her face. She pushed past him and basically ran away in the other direction. Harrison wanted to turn around too when he heard her shout at someone “Hey, you heard her! Let her go!”  but another PA ticked his shoulder and he was lead away to do his actual job. He tried to look back as he was being pulled away, just in the hopes to see where Z went off to. But he didn’t see anything. Not seconds later, the backs of two bodyguards limited his vision on his friend.

________________________________________

Your breath finally came back to you when Zendaya let go. You stared at her with a blank expression. Pretty sure it was starting to freak her out, you shook your head to wake up. This was probably some kind of messed up dream. She wasn’t actually standing in front of you. It wasn’t possible.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Do you need anything? Coffee? I can ask someone to make it Irish?” She smiled. You couldn’t believe it. Zendaya was actually standing in front of you, in all her beauty. You had seen the pictures, the interviews, the movies, and it just didn’t seem to be possible that a woman could be so gorgeous, but here she was. You looked at her in envied awe.  _Unbelievable_.

“No, no. It’s a bit too early for that I think.” You actually managed to say a complete sentence without making a fool of yourself.

“Girl, please, don’t worry about the time. You’re shaking. You need something for that.” You tore your eyes away to look down at your hands. They were indeed trembling. You just weren’t sure if that was because of what happened with Rob or because you were standing in front of Zendaya who had literally just saved your butt. You crossed your arms to hide the shakiness.

“I’m good.” you smiled a bit tightly. “And thank you for noticing, I suppose, what happened. I don’t know what he would have done if you didn’t stop him.” Oh great, you felt your nose scrunch in a twitch. A nervous tick of yours that since school you had never managed to control. She looked at you a bit unsure.

“No problem. We girls have to stick out for each other, right?” Again, you could only nod. “I just hate it that there are still jerks out there in the world like him. Thinking they can just get anything they want without any consequences. That is what is wrong about this country- but you’re not from here, are you? Your accent…”

“I’m from London,” you explained. “Or I mean, I live in London. I’m on a work trip. Trying to set up deals for my boss with the dum-dums here. I don’t want to be rude, but this is a shit company.”  You looked around yourself to see that no one was listening to your conversation. Wow, you were actually having a conversation with Zendaya. No, you were gossiping with Zendaya…?

“Oh, that explains how we managed to film in the middle of the week.” she… giggled? “No proper office would let us use their space.”

“Yeah, I was actually supposed to have a meeting in there right now.” You pointed at the conference room. You could still see a group of people that clearly did not work in the office. “So I don’t even know what I’m doing here.”

“Are they letting you be an extra?” She looked between you and the conference room. You shook your head vigorously.

“Uh-uh, I don’t- that’s not for me.” Declining an offer from Zendaya to be in a movie with her. Not many people could say they have done that.

“Well then, this might be the bitter old lady in me speaking, but what the hell are you doing here? Get your butt back home. Eat some ice cream, drink some wine or whatever ya fancy and take a bubble bath. You deserve it girl.” That was probably the best thing you had ever heard. It was the best motivation - to do exactly nothing at all.

“Wow- sorry I can’t believe that  _you_  are actually telling me this right now.” You laughed nervously to which she responded with a very genuine smile.

“Yeah, well, just take care of yourself. Stay on the lookout for creepo’s like that guy and stay safe.” She wrapped her arm around you again and pulled you into another hug. This time you shook your nerves aside and hugged her back. The embrace was warm and comfortable. Like a blanket was thrown over you on a December evening.

Right at that moment, you realized how lonely you had really been the last few days. A city with millions of people and you were all on your own. One little dot on the map, completely disconnected from all the others. The day you had with Harrison was the first time that week that you had properly talked to someone. Yeah, you had Maze, but that was not the same. You missed the contact. The feeling of having an actual person in front of you and not just a screen.

“It’s okay.” Zendaya looked down at you, her hand soothingly on your back, “It’s okay.” You didn’t understand what was going on until you felt droplets fall into the corner of your mouth.  _You were crying._  You pulled away from her embrace. Embarrassed that you were caught crying by, basically, one of your celebrity crushes. You wiped away your tears and didn’t look her in the eye anymore.  _Nope, not worthy._

“Wow, I’m so sorry. This is so embarrassing.” Eventually, you did look back up. It would have been rude if you kept talking to her but didn’t actually look at her. To your surprise, she had a kind smile.

“It’s fine. You should probably go. Rest and relax. I will ask Link to drive you.” You wanted to decline but the bodyguard/driver was already walking up and she called him to her. “Link!” You stood there awkwardly as the two talked.

“We escorted the trash bag out of the building.” Link said. You now noticed that he was one of the guys you had been looking at with Anita.

“Thanks, Link,” she thanked him. Right then, someone (maybe a PA, you weren’t sure) called Zendaya to set in the conference room. She looked behind her and told them she would be there in a minute. Then, she brought her attention back to the bodyguard. “Right, can you make sure she gets home safely.”

“Of course.” Link smiled.

“Great. Trust me, he is the sweetest.” She put a hand on your shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay. Try to forget about… everything that happened.” How could someone who had no idea what you were going through, still give you the advice you needed the most. You really needed to forget. Forget about Tom, about Harrison, about all the shit that you were probably putting them through right now. Where they still fighting? Maybe you would see them here. You managed to bump into them every other day, why not now?

Zendaya gave you and Link a small wave before heading back to the conference room in which they would be filming the scene. You wondered if Tom was in there too now. And what about Harrison? After that fight from yesterday, would they be able to stay in one room together?

You didn’t want to think about it.  _Forget about everything that happened._  But that wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

“Uhh, Zendaya, wait.” you clasped a hand in front of your mouth. You did not just do that. You didn’t call her out like that. But from how she turned around to look at you again, was enough of a tell to say that, yes, you did just do that.

“Yeah?” She was waiting for you to say something. But you had no idea what to say. Because, what the hell were you supposed to say? Ask where Tom or Harrison was and sound like some creepy fan? Ask for a picture or autograph and look like a desperate fan? You were already taking up enough of her time by making her wait.

“I uhh,”  _say something woman!_  “I just wanted to say thanks, again.”

She smiled again before walking away definitively.

Link lead you downstairs and then to the back entrance of the building where all the cars that were usually there to bring and pick up the stars of the movie we parked.

“Where to,” he asked as he opened the door to the black car for you. You gave him the address to your hotel and stepped in. Not even five minutes later, the car was driving out of the parking of the building, into the street, away from all your problems.

________________________________________

“Has anyone seen Zen-” A director’s assistant was out looking for the actress as she walked through the door. “Ah, there you are.” Tom watched her smile to everyone, then walking towards him.

“Where have you been?” He asked. He knew she had been talking to Harrison before as she had told him she would do, but Harrison had walked into the room five minutes ago and she had disappeared.

“I had to help a girl that works here. A guy was acting really inappropriate so I had to step in,” she explained as she took a bottle of water from the table next to them. Tom nodded along. It sounded like something she would be off doing. Saving women’s lives.

“Is she okay?”

“I hope so,” she sighed. “Some guys are real dicks, I saw how he was behaving toward her, it was disgusting… and apparently, he had tried to be nasty before.” For some reason, Tom could only think about (y/n). About what Harrison had told him the day he ran after her in the street. Hadn’t she been running from some creep then too?

“What? So what did you do?”

“I told him to back off and then asked Link and Arch to kick his ass out of the building. I told Link to give her a ride home, or the hotel she’s staying at or something.”  At that moment Harrison just walked up, talking to another crew member. Zendaya called out to him. “Hey, Haz, can you please get me some air freshener or something.” He told her he would look for something and ran off. Tom gave her a quizzical look.

“Ugh, that guy smelled worse than the subway.” She took another sip of her water. “I mean, it’s 2018, who even smokes nowadays.” Tom’s eyes widened. Could it be the same jackass Harrison told him about? The prick (y/n) was running away from then? Had he found himself another victim? Or had she been here? He really started to freak out now. Just hoping she was okay. All he wanted to do now was text her, ask her how she was doing… maybe even ask out for a cup of coffee, but unfortunately, she hadn’t texted him yet. The ball was in her court but Tom had the feeling she threw it away into the backyard of the neighbors.

Then Harrison walked back up to them with a can of aerosol Febreze. He threw it over to Zendaya who caught it in one hand and immediately started to spray it around. Not only herself but also Tom. Some of it caught in his mouth and he started to cough at the bitter taste.

Once his throat calmed down a little, he glanced over at Harrison. He wasn’t paying attention to him though. The blonde was now on his phone. Sometimes, he would chuckle at something, not clear if it was something he saw on the screen or heard over the earpiece he was wearing.

“Don’t you think that’s enough,” he commented as Zendaya sprayed one more little puff. She looked over at Harrison.

“Oh sorry, I just had to the get that stench off of me.” She put the air freshener down.

“What?” Harrison looked between Zendaya and Tom. For a second, their eyes actually met. Tom still felt a wave of anger in him but he didn’t shoot daggers at his friend anymore. They didn’t give each other toxic glances.

Tom didn’t know what he was supposed to say. If he was even supposed to say anything. He hadn’t been there. But he needed to know if that girl was her. If she had been here, once again, right under his nose. But how could he perform his inquiry subtly?

“(y/n).” he thought out loud. Zendaya’s eyes darted at him as he said the name. So did Harrison’s.

“How do you know her name? I didn’t tell you?” She looked a bit spooked at him. The only natural response, since it was probably a bit creepy that out of all the possible names he could have said out loud, he picked the one that they all have thought about in the last ten minutes… and what he was about to say next, wouldn’t stop that eerie feeling any time soon.

“Did she have (y/hair), (y/eyes) and a (y/accent)?” New York City was big. There were probably plenty of (y/n)’s around. It could have been someone else. Unfortunately, that thought vanished when Zendaya nodded, a bit confused.

“Yes, how did you-”

“Fuck, that was her.” He groaned, he covered his face with his hand in an exasperated manner. Zendaya still looked at him confused. Harrison in the meantime caught on to what he meant - his eyes wide. She looked at the two of them.

“Wait, was that- are you saying- Was she  _the_  (y/n)!?  _The_  girl you two morons-” She didn’t need to finish that sentence. Both boys nodded their heads. Tom felt his cheeks heat up. He hoped that the makeup he was wearing maybe could cover it up a bit.

“Well, she’s great.” she took another sip of her water. Tom rolled his eyes and for a second he shared a look with Harrison again.

“Is that it?” he asked.

“What?” she laughed. “She seems nice yeah. Pretty. Definitely both your type. I don’t know what else you want me to say.” She shrugged. There was a silence between the three of them. None of them knowing how to continue the conversation. Then a makeup artist called for Zendaya and she basically glided through the room.

Tom and Harrison stood next to each other. Now, with no third person to help, there was no way the conversation would start up again. Tom didn’t want to talk to him. He knew he had to. He had listened to Z. He knew she was right. He just didn’t want to do it now. Not in front of all these people.

So Tom did what he did best, he people watched. He looked at all the crew members. How everyone was going about with their job. Preparing the set so they could start filming already. They had already started but then a badly attached light fell and disrupted the whole set-up so they had to start the whole thing over. Everyone was running around with equipment. Only stopping for short moments to talk through their walkie-talkies that were probably the easiest way to reach someone else on the set.

He looked outside the room in which they were standing. Through the wide glass walls, he could see a group of people. All dressed in suits, most of them just a variation of the same old grey set. Sometimes there was one person in a blue jacket or no jacket at all. Just the white shirt with a tie, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Most of them had coffee cups in their hands.

 _Damn_ , he should have gone for that one extra large coffee when he walked in on set. But he had drunk so much today. And they would probably start filming soon. There were already so many things around distracting him, he didn’t need his bladder to be another reason for his shit acting today.

He looked away from the office employees, feeling a bit awkward looking at them as they all were definitely staring back at him. His attention was brought back to something much closer to him.

“What are you doing?” he snickered as he looked at Harrison. He had been looking around just like him, only he was straining his neck, as if on the lookout for something.

“Nothing.” he obviously lied. Tom could see straight through him.

“If you’re looking for her, I can spare you the trouble mate,” he scoffed, “she’s not here.”

“And how would you know?” He said it in a way that was on the verge of being angry.

“Z told Link to give her a ride back to the hotel,” he repeated what Zendaya told him. Harrison’s body immediately relaxed at the sound of Tom’s words. Tom just rolled his eyes. He was about to sigh when his ears caught something. Or at least, he thought they did. Harrison had mumbled something. He was about to ask what he had said but Harrison was already doing so.

“I’m sorry.” This definitely took Tom by surprise. Was Harrison apologizing? To him?

“Don’t sweat it, no need to apologize for being an idiot-”

“Fucking hell, I mean about the whole thing yesterday.” he hissed out, a bit louder. Fortunately still not loud enough for anybody to hear. Tom could only respond with one thing: “Oh.”

“I’m sorry that I kissed her, okay. I am. I shouldn’t have- and I shouldn’t have said… anything that I said yesterday.” the look in his eyes told Tom that he meant what he said.

Tom wanted to accept the apology. He wanted to forgive and forget like nothing ever happened. But he couldn’t. The hurt was still there. The cut was still fresh. So, instead of letting it go, he rubbed the lower back of his neck anxiously, looking around, and said: “Can we not do this now?”

Harrison’s eyes lost the sincerity in them. They were back to spitting fire back at Tom. “That’s all you got to say?”

“What do you want me to say? Do you want me to apologize too? For what then? Cause I can’t remember doing anything wrong.” They both took a step forward. Shoulders wide, jaws clenched and toxic masculinity overpowering the both of them.

“You know what?” Harrison looked away, laughing in defeat,  “Nevermind. Why the fuck did I even bloody bother with you. I wanted this shit to end but if you so necessarily need all this drama in your life, go ahead.” Harrison almost spat in his face. Tom didn’t even flinch though. He kept his cool… kind of.

“You wanted this to end? And how exactly were you planning on doing that? Don’t tell me with that sad little apology you tried to give just there.”

“I  _am_  sorry, Tom.”

“For what exactly? Are you sorry that you went behind my back like a snake or are you sorry you got caught?” From the look on Harrison’s face, he knew which one it was.

Without another word, Tom walked away. He saw a few people give him weird looks. He simply smiled and walked on.  _If you pretend nothing happened, then nothing happened._

He walked up to the director’s chair where Jon was seated. The director turned around and smiled brightly. Apparently just seconds before Tom appeared, they had managed to set up the new lights.

“Yes, let’s get this baby on a roll!” He clapped his hands. “You ready, Tom?”

Tom glanced back to where Harrison had stood. He felt his eyebrow twitch. He was getting angry. He wasn’t supposed to be feeling that. Right now he had to feel scared. He had to feel what Peter Parker was supposed to feel. Although, in a way, that boy must be angry about something too. He turned back to Jon smiling.

“Ready.”

________________________________________

You stopped walking when you reached the door of your room.

“You really didn’t have to walk me all the way to the room.” You smiled at Link. He towered over you and you were pretty sure that if you hadn’t gotten to know him on your car ride to the hotel, you would have been a little bit freaked out to stand in between him and the door.

“I was supposed to make sure you got back safe. That’s kind of my job.” He gave you another of those bright smiles.

“Weren’t you only supposed to bring me to the hotel?” you smiled back while getting the key out of your bag.

“Just wanted to make sure you arrived safe and sound miss.” He watched you open the door and step inside, then he took a step backward. “I see I have completed the task.”  

The comment made you laugh out loud. A bit too hard. It echoed through the empty hallway. “Well, anyway, thank you.”

“No problem. You gonna be okay from here?” He asked to make sure before he would walk away. You nodded from your little corridor of the suite. “Alright then, it was nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, and hey, I hope everything works out with your boyfriend.” You remember what he had shared with you while you were stuck in traffic.

Link just shrugged, “We’ll be fine. We survived worse things than this.” Just listening to him talk about his significant other made you feel soft. You leaned against the door… which moved slightly at your pressure on it, causing you to stumble forward. Luckily he hadn’t noticed.

“You know, I wish I could have a relationship like yours,” you admitted.

“I’m sure there is a guy  _or ga_ l,” he added quickly, “out there, dying to make that dream come true for you.” Your eyes opened wide. Was there someone out there? Could it be…

“Well, I really gotta go.” Link looked at his watch and started walking away. You didn’t have the time to say a proper goodbye before he started jogging. Soon he disappeared behind the corner and you were all alone again. With a sigh, you stepped back into your room and closed the door.

The lights were of course off. Only one curtain open, giving the room some sunlight, but not too much to make everything uncomfortably bright the moment you stepped inside.

You dropped your bag, took off your shoes and jacket, and walked to push open the other drapes. The sun was still shining. The rays reflected in the many windows of the New York skyline. Cars slowly passed by in the early afternoon traffic.  _This city really never takes a break_ , you thought.

After a few moments of staring out the window, you decided to actually step outside onto the balcony. You haven’t been out there since your first day in New York. Almost a whole week had passed. What an eventful week it had been too. You didn’t go down the list of the things that happened. You didn’t need to remember. The things you didn’t remember, you were glad about, and the things you did remember, you wish you could forget. This whole trip had been such a mess. It was a miracle that you didn’t go insane, although some might say otherwise.

You laughed to yourself as you leaned against the balustrade. A wind blew by, blowing most of your hair into your face. It was a fresh afternoon. Not exactly cold, but definitely chilly without a proper jacket. With you only wearing a dress shirt and blazer, that was clearly not enough.

A few deep breaths. The smell of hot dogs, but also gasoline and possibly some kind of weed hung around. It wasn’t even that bad. It was authentic. Different and interesting. In a way calming… but that might be the secondhand smoke of marijuana talk. Yeah, it was time to head back inside.


	9. The One at the Doorstep

Filming had gone bad. Tom wanted to blame it on anything but-, but how could he? He knew very well what the problem was. (y/n). She kept popping up in his head. When he closed his eyes, even if it was only for a millisecond to blink, he saw her.  And when he saw her, he started to freak out.

 _Was she okay?_  He hated not knowing. Of course, it wasn’t really any of his business. They barely knew each other. He had no right to try and pry himself into her life. If she didn’t want to talk to him he understood. He didn’t want to become some crazy stalker. Oh, he already saw the tabloid headlines pop up. TMZ would love it if he pulled a stunt like that. So much drama. Finally something interesting about him besides “leaking another Marvel spoiler”. Even that was getting old.

 _So, if she doesn’t choose me? Does she pick Harrison?_ The fucking prick. Of course, he wanted them to be happy. He meant it when he said it to Z but he also meant everything else he told her.  _Why did Harrison’s happiness depend on his own? Why did he have to pay for it?_

“Dammit”, he slammed his hand on the table, scaring a bypassing intern. He looked up and apologized with a smile. The girl weakly smiled back and practically ran away. The reason of speed, unclear.

It was already the end of the day. The crew was packing up, Even with all the difficulties Tom was having, they managed to score a few good shots and were ready to wrap it all up. The news wasn’t exactly well received by the employees of the office they occupied for the day. They had expected it to last at least one more day. Some people already got a day off. That of course caused some commotion in the hallways.

Tom slipped away, somehow not getting caught by the people waiting outside, straight to the car park and into the car. Harrison followed him, not much far behind. This time they sat together on the backseat. The drive was eerily quiet. No one said anything. It was only the sound of the engine disturbed by the noises of the early nightlife of the Big Apple. The lights around them were turning on already. Most of them mere flashes as they drove by. The cars coming from the other side of the road, shining right back at them.

The silence continued all the way until the door of their suite closed behind them. Even then there were a few seconds where they just stood there. Not sure what to do. Neither wanted to speak up first. They knew they had to though. It couldn’t go on like this forever. At the end of the day, they  _were_  still best friends. Whether they liked it or not at the moment. They had gone through thick and thin together. Knew each other better than their own siblings. This madness had to stop somehow.

Tom sighed. It wasn’t a frustrated sigh. Not a sad sigh either. Well, maybe a little. It was mostly a tired sigh. He was tired of this fight. It had only been going on for a day and it already was taking up most of his energy.

“Okay, Harrison, look,” He put down his phone on the table. Harrison looked up at him surprised. Not sure where this was going. “I’m sorry I acted like a dick on set. I didn’t mean to get angry. I do appreciate that you tried-” he saw the look Harrison gave him. “Right, you did apologize. I just completely ruined it.”

“Whatever mate, you clearly didn’t believe me, so let’s just drop it okay.” Harrison sat down on the couch. His arm on the lean of the sofa, fingers pressed against his temple as he tried to not think about anything.

“No, Haz. We can not  _just drop it_. I need to talk and you need to listen and then you need to talk and I need to listen.”

“That’s pretty much how a conversation works, yeah.” both of them actually chuckled. It was an action that came as a surprise to both of them. A little pressure taken off their shoulders. Tom was about to sit down on the couch next to him but stopped in mid-action. A chill went up against his spine and he stretched out his neck uncomfortably. He sat down opposite of Harrison instead. The smiles having faded from both their faces again now. Tom’s brown eyes staring back into the contrasted blues of Harrison’s.

“I just need to know, mate,” he took a deep breath. This question could easily change their whole friendship forever. “Do you like her?”  

“Are you serious?” Harrison scoffed and rolled his eyes. When he looked back at Tom his expression dropped. Tom was being serious. And he needed to know. Now.

“Yeah, I do like her.”

“Like her, like  _I_  like her?” Tom’s heart stopped during the second that he waited for Harrison to answer.

“No. I don’t think so. I’m not in love with her. I do have feelings for her. Only not in that way yet.”   _In love._  Tom wasn’t so sure himself if he was actually in love. It could be that he had fallen in love with  _the idea of_ falling in love. That he wanted to have that straight-out-of-a-movie experience where he met a girl and that would change his life forever. In a way that did already happen. He just hoped that it would change for the better now.

He shook away the thoughts and continued his questioning: “Why?”

“Bloody hell, Tom. I don’t know why I have feelings for her. Sometimes it just happens without a real  reason.” Harrison couldn’t speak more truer words.

“Alright, sorry.” He sighed. “I just wanted to be sure that you weren’t doing all this shit to take the piss at me.” Harrison’s eyes widened. His mouth agape.

“Tom, you know I wouldn’t do that. I-” he stopped in the middle of his sentence. He was clearly thinking about what to say next. “When she kissed me, I did feel guilty, I did. But… it happened and we couldn’t help it. You know, the heat of the moment and whatnot.”  _And whatnot._   What was that exactly? Tom didn’t know what to think of his friend anymore. He believed him, of course, he did. He just didn’t know if he was supposed to forgive him.

“But you did it anyway,” Tom mumbled.

“W-what?”

“You’re saying that you felt guilty, yet you still kissed her back, right?” He should have stopped. He should have forgotten and forgiven him. Not mention anything anymore. Leave it up to the fates. Harrison’s jaw clenched. His constant shocked expression turned back into anger.

“I did kiss her. Yes. Do I feel bad? No. Not about that. I do not feel bad for kissing a girl I like. I feel bad that that girl has to be the same girl you like. Do you think I’m enjoying this? That she likes us both? No, of course not!” He leaned back into the couch. His hand went through his hair. He took a deep breath filled with frustration before he continued.“I wish that it could be different. That one of us didn’t like her and left the other one alone, unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way, so we should both just end this. Don’t you agree?”

“I do.” Tom got up. He couldn’t take it anymore. As he walked away, he mumbled. “I do think you should leave me the fuck alone.”

________________________________________

Tom should not have said that. Harrison immediately understood that he wasn’t meant to hear it. Tom had gotten up and was walking away. Not even looking at Harrison. He had been talking to himself. His words were still audible, though: “I do think you should just leave me the fuck alone.”

So, as Tom made his way to his room, Harrison without missing a beat walked to his own. He shrugged off his jacket and pulled on a hoodie over his shirt. Then, he reached over his bed and grabbed the backpack. He was checking if everything was in the bag when walking back out of the room. Tom had appeared at the same time. He was looking down at his phone. A towel in the other hand.

“Hey man, I’m gonna take a shower- going somewhere?” he changed the subject when he saw the bag in Harrison’s arms. Harrison just hoped that Tom would think it was his own. He just wanted to get out of here. Have everything over and done with.

“Uhh, yeah. I’m kinda hungry. Gonna go see if that store is still open.” He flung the backpack over his shoulder. He felt the book hit him in the back through the material.

“What you taking the bag for?” Tom chuckled, walking into the bathroom.

“Well, I’m not gonna carry all of it in my arms, am I?” He laughed back.

“Fair enough.” Tom walked through to the bathroom. When that door closed, Harrison sprinted through the suite to the front door. He picked up his key, opened the door, slipped through and let it close a bit too loudly. He was so quick he hadn’t even noticed Tom walking back out.

________________________________________

Tom had already taken off his shirt and turned on the water in the shower. The steam was starting to rise and the glass of the cabin was fogging up. His stomach growled just as he was about to unbutton his jeans. Of course, he was hungry, he hadn’t eaten anything since lunch and it was getting pretty late.

With a little groan, he turned around and opened the door to the bathroom. He immediately felt the change in temperature. The cold air, in contrast to the steamy bathroom, send goosebumps down his whole upper body.

“Hey, Haz-” He didn’t finish his sentence. He was interrupted by the front door slamming shut.  _Huh, someone was in a hurry._  But he needed something to eat too. Maybe if he ran out to the hallway he would still catch him before Harrison would get into the elevator. That was the plan. Until he saw the backpack lying next to the door.

That one was definitely his. Much dirtier than the one they had accidentally taken from (y/n).

Wasn’t he taking it with him to the shop?

Unless he wasn’t going to get dinner in the first place. Could it be possible that he was going to meet her? No. He shook his head. Maybe Harrison just decided to not go to that  _specific_  shop but instead to some supermarket where they would give him a bag. Well, there was only one way to find out.

Tom pulled the door open harshly. It flew to the side, hitting the wall. He stuck his head out just in time. He could just see the back of Harrison’s head disappear behind the corner of the hall. Just as expected, a black backpack hanging around his shoulders.

Tom felt the pit of anger inside of him erupt. Was he really doing this? Going behind his back again? Just when they had had a conversation about it. Fucking unbelievable.

He didn’t want to believe it. He didn’t want to believe that his friend was betraying him once again. It hurt too much. He just hoped that it wasn’t right. Maybe he had just taken the wrong backpack… And didn’t even notice that his own was lying next to the door. Harrison may be an idiot, but he wasn’t that stupid to overlook his own backpack.

Luckily their windows were looking out to the same side as the entrance to the hotel. He walked to the window, pushed the curtains open and looked down. There were many people hustling about. What was Harrison wearing again? That ugly jacket right? No! He had changed. He saw it before he walked into the bathroom. He was wearing a hoodie. A blue one.

“Oh Haz, you sly dog,” he chuckled. Tom didn’t know his friend’s intention, but he could assume this (throwing Tom off, just in case) was possibly one of them. He concentrated on the people on the streets. It was a mix between men in suits, to women in fur coats, tourists and even a drag queen. Then, after a few minutes,  he saw Harrison crossing the street. The blue hoodie sticking out like a sore thumb between the greys of the corporate lawyers and accountants. Tom had hoped that it had been a trick of the eye in the hallway, but nope. That was definitely a black bag on his back. Since his bag was in the corridor, it could only mean that one was (y/n)’s.

Tom watched as Harrison stopped on the other side of the street. This was it. Would he go left or right? He could clearly see his head move as he looked at both options. He chose left.  _He chose her._

________________________________________

Harrison crossed the busy street. He was making himself look as small as possible. Not wanting to catch anyone’s attention. Not that he would anyway. Who would recognize him here? A street filled with exec’s and…  some slightly suspicious looking people. Definitely not the kind of folks he wanted to interact with. That went for both, by the way.

He stopped when he reached the sidewalk. Making sure he wasn’t standing in anyone’s way, he stood at the edge. Now, where was he supposed to go?

He looked to the right. That would be where the actual deli shop was. Right at the end of the block.

He looked to the left. In the direction that would be the quickest to (y/n)’s hotel. For a second he thought about going back to the hotel. As the cold wind blew by and he was hit by the smell of gasoline and cheap vendors food. He thought if he should be doing this. It probably was not the best idea to go out, behind Tom’s back, like he was planning on doing right now. But the angry side of him took over the rational one. Any other given moment he wouldn’t want to hurt Tom. He didn’t want to do anything to put even more dents in their friendship.

Any other moment he would have walked back to the room. This wasn’t any of those other moments. This was now. Now he was angry. He couldn’t care less what Tom would think. It couldn’t make matters any worse than they were now. If Tom wanted him to fuck off, then that is exactly what he will do.

Besides, he needed to see her. He needed to talk to her.

With a shaky breath, he walked left. He only took two steps before he stopped again. A tall woman bumped into him. Harrison ignored her yells. He tried to shake off the feeling of being watched. It was the most unnerving feeling. Especially in a busy street like that. You never knew where it could come from and who it was that was looking at you. What were their intentions?

For some reason,  his instinct was to turn around and look up at the hotel. He searched for what he thought would be the windows to their apartment. What would it be? Fifth, sixth floor? Then like 6 windows to the left? He looked. It was hard to see much as the sun was already setting and everything was becoming more and more grey, losing the life that the daylight was providing.

Harrison didn’t know what he was exactly looking for.  When he focused on the windows that were most likely of the living area of their suite there was nothing. Just a currtain. A curtain slowly moving from side to side.

Just like that, the feeling was gone. Harrison didn’t want to think about it anymore in case it came back. More wind blew past him. The cold hit him right in the face.  He pulled his hood over his head and started walking again.

________________________________________

After a life-saving bath, you sat down on the couch. Just like Zendaya had advised, you got yourself the tub of ice cream you had bought earlier that week and called room service for a bottle of wine, no make that two bottles. You weren’t sure if you were going to finish them tonight, but at least you had it if you needed it.

Once the room service had arrived, you walked back to the couch with the two bottles and with the large, hamburger and fries on top of it. After you made the first call, you had soon realized you were rather peckish so decided to order some food too. For the first time in forever, you felt good. Body relaxed and ready to be filled with junk food and alcohol. Mind clear, perfect for watching some mindless tv. It was good.

You just turned on Netflix again, and clicked on a show that you heard was bad (so perfect for the situation) when your phone rang. Maze’s face lit up. Quite literally too as you had turned off most of the light and your phone screen was pretty bright. You grabbed the phone and answered the call. The phone was a bit warm against your cheek from charging but it felt pleasant. You stuffed your mouth with a few fries that you dipped into your ice cream and said “Ello?”

“Where the hell were you last night!?” Maze screamed into the phone so hard you had to pull it away from your ear. “I was waiting for my New York Update. London is sooooo boring. I need drama!”

“Oh, so I’m just some low-quality entertainment to you now?” you laughed.

“You know I love you, but now tell me, what happened that I didn’t get to hear about it immediately?” There was a gasp on the other line. “Did you go out, get so drunk you could only make it back to the bar itself and then hook up with the bartender in the kitchen?”

“Okay, that was  _way_  too specific to be a suggestion at what  _I_  could have done yesterday. Do  _you_ want to tell me about your night maybe?”

“Nothing interesting, I did some cleaning. Found that one thing that we were looking for last month.”  

“You mean the condoms  _you_  were looking for at 3 in the morning when Mike-”

“Oh my god (y/n)! This isn’t about me! This is about you! What the hell were you up to yesterday?!”

What were you up to yesterday? That was a good question. Not so good answer. You sighed as you let all the memories of the day before flood back. All day you did your best to push them away. You didn’t want to think about it. Now here you were, about to tell it all, replay it all over again in your mind, and let your best friend judge you for it.

“I uhm. I met Tom.” You bit your lip. You already pulled your phone away before Maze started screaming.

“Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my GOD. Annnd?” You couldn’t see her, but you knew she was jumping up and down on her knees on her bed.

“We uhm, we kissed.” Another wave of screams followed. You wondered if Mrs. Beltrao from number 20 would start to slam against the wall until Maze would shut up or if the nasty old woman would just call the police this time, having enough of the constant noise your roommate provided. You chuckled at the thought of another concerned neighbor calling the police, thinking your best friend was being tortured and murdered.

“You kissed? What? When? Where? How? Tell me everything!” She squealed. It was as if that and the screams were the only sounds she was able to make.

You took some more fries into your mouth. The saltiness making you feel a bit better. You still didn’t want to talk about it but… maybe talking about it was actually what you needed. If you vent and air it out, maybe you could move on and maybe Maze could actually help you. Tell you what to do.

“It’s a really long story and I should probably tell it all to make it make any sense.” You said with a full mouth.

“Uhh yeah, I expect you to talk girl. My phone will die sooner than that I don’t want to know what is going on and I’m on 93% bitch, so talk!”  You rolled your eyes but laughed. Boy, she had no idea what she was getting herself into.

“So I actually bumped into Harrison in the morning-” once again you were interrupted by a velociraptor scream.

“I hate you so much right now!” Maze yelled. “You met Harrison! How is he? Is he as gorgeous as we knew he is?” Was he gorgeous? Of course, he was. Nothing less than that. You blinked and could see that pair of blue eyes staring back at you. You shivered before continuing your story.  

“I met him before you know, but yeah, he’s definitely even better-looking irl.” You grabbed your wine glass and downed the rest of it in one sip. As you told her about how you spend your day with the handsome blond, you managed to fill the glass and finish it too one more time.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I would actually want to trade lives with you right now.” You heard a crunch between her words. While you were talking, Maze had grabbed some food for herself. You didn’t mind. At least she was quiet.

“Yeah well, you are free to take it.” You sighed and told the ending of the story. “I was on the couch with Harrison and Tom walks in.”

“And you had a threesome.”

“MAZE!! No, of course not.” You almost spit out your wine.  You heard a sigh come from her end of the line.

“You fucking prude. That was your chance girl! But whatever. The kiss. How did he kiss you.” You were about to tell her that it was the softest, most love filled kiss you had ever had when you remembered that wasn’t what she was talking about.

“Right, so,”  You ate a fry but suddenly it didn’t taste like a fried potato anymore. You could smell the woody floral. It was as if you could taste him again. You shook the memory of Harrison’s lips away from you. “So uhm, I left but he went after me to the elevator and then he told me… he told me that he likes me.”

“An’ten’wath?” Maze spoke with her mouth full.

“I told him that I like him too, obviously! But since I never called or texted him, since  I lost his fucking number, he felt hurt and I get that you know, I mean I would be mad too if I gave someone my number and they flat out ignored me.” You could hear Maze mumble ‘ _Eric’_  but you just shushed her, not wanting to be reminded of that embarrassment. “So I kissed him.”

“You just kissed him? Like that?” You responded with a “uhuh” and Maze stayed quiet for a long moment. You understood. You had never been the adventurous type. Always played it save when it came to dating. So vanilla. If your sex life was a spice, it would be flour.

“Damn girl, I can not believe it. You are finally growing up, woman!”  You both laughed. “So tell me, how was it.”

“It was… amazing.” You slumped down into the couch. Your wine glass was empty again so you put it down on the table in front of you. “Probably one of the best kisses I’ve ever had.”

“Well… I told you to tell me everything. This doesn’t exactly sound like everything. Go on.” She kept nudging you. You bit your lip thinking about that kiss. You closed your eyes and imagined Tom in front of you again. His hands on your body, pressing you against the cool metal bar of the elevator.

“So I kissed him and it was all pretty irrational. I just went for it, pressed my lips against him. It obviously shocked him for a moment but once he had it under control… he really had it under control.”  

“Oh my god, I knew it, he’s a dom.” she groaned. “What did he do?!”

“He like gripped my waist tightly and spun us around so he had me against the wall of the elevator. I’m telling you, it was so hot. His hands were all over me and” you let out a shaky breath. “And the kiss, Maze, that kiss was just so fucking perfect I don’t even know how to explain it.”  

“Was all of it like an I-gotta-have-you-now type of things or more like a this-can’t-last-forever-but-lets-pretend-it-can?”

“I don’t know. In a way, both. At least to me.” Now you could hear some rather inhumane voices. Maze could have been having a seizure and you would be none the wiser. You were about to tell her not to get excited. That there was much more to the story that you needed to tell her. But then you heard a knock on the door. Your head shot up in the direction as if the person was already standing there in your room.

“Wait, Maze, someone’s at the door.” You took your phone with you. Maze was now rambling about how you had finally made progress in life. That you were starting to take risks and were actually living a little. You weren’t listening though. You were much too occupied by the person standing on the other side of the door. You looked through the peephole and almost screamed and dropped your phone when you saw his blue eyes. Even though he had no idea if you were there, looking at him, it felt like he was staring right back at you. Straight into your eyes, your soul, your deepest secrets and desires. His eyes  were just this enchanting piece of wonder. Like two crystals sparkling in the morning sun.

“(y/n) what’s wrong? Who is it?” You put the phone back up to your ear. You took a few steps back, still looking at the door as if it could burst open any minute.  You whispered into the speaker. “It’s Harrison.”

“What is he doing here? Wait, do I even wanna know?” That woman really had to get her head out of the gutter.

“I don’t know what he’s doing here.” you hissed back, still looking at the door. “What should I do?” It was a stupid question. You knew the answer. It was the exact same answer you got from your best friend. You had to open the door. Talk to him about whatever it was that he came to talk about for. It was simple. Just why did you still wanna run away? But from where? There was no fire escape and the only door out (that you knew of) was the front door at which he stood. So what were you to do now? Jump out the window?

“Okay, I’ll talk to you later.” and with a shaky breath, you walked back to the door. Just like you had seen through the peephole, Harrison was standing in front of you. Wearing a simple outfit that consisted out of some good fitting jeans and a blue hoodie. His hair tussled. Probably from the wind he had to walk through and his continuous finger brushing. When you opened the door, his expression changed in a heartbeat from a concerned frown to a warm smile. His eyes sparkling like a still lake reflecting the sun on a summer afternoon.

“Hi.” you smile back. Your voice quieter than you expected. The small word only coming out like a small peep. You cleared your throat and tried again. “Hi.”

“Eh, hey, I uhm… wanted to finally return your backpack.” Only then you realized he had a black strap pulled over his shoulder. He took it off and handed you the bag. Like an idiot, you took it and then just stood there awkwardly. Not really sure what to say. The words you heard yesterday replaying in front of you. You thought you had forgotten the things they said but seeing Harrison in front of you - Everything flooded back in at once.

“Oh,” you shook your head, realizing you were just staring at him in the hallway, “yeah, thank you.”

“No problem.” His hand went up to the nape of his neck. He looked at the ground, before looking back up again. His bottom lip between his teeth. You grabbed on tighter to your bag as you felt your heart stop for a good two seconds.

“So, how are you?” he asked. His voice was unsure. As if even the basic ice breaker conversation was unplanned. Although, you had the same problem. You had no idea what to say. Because how  _were_  you? Were you okay? Were you miserable? Scared? Traumatized? In love? The only thing you could appropriately respond with was:

“I’m fine.” you clutched on to your bag. The grip of the zipper dug into the crook of your elbow but you ignored it. “How are you?”  

________________________________________

Harrison expected the question. It was a simple question. The basic foundation of every conversation he had ever had. Yet still, he had no answer to it when the words left her lips.  _How are you?_

He could go with the same response she did. The obvious reply that wasn’t a real reply at all. The answer everyone wanted to hear but never meant. Just like in her case. He had seen the way she held onto her bag. How her eyes were flicking up and down his face. Not sure where to look. He had seen it all before. The uncertainty, the anxiety - all of it. And he was feeling it all too.

“Yeah, I’m fine too.” he finally said. He saw her left eyebrow move just a millimeter. She could see right through him like he saw through her, and both of them knew it, yet they kept up the facade. Why? Because it was easier. If they didn’t show the emotions they wouldn’t feel them towards each other either. That was the plan at least.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get it myself. I wanted to already yesterday but after all that happened between you and Tom I didn’t think you would want to see me.” The first thing he wanted to comment on was that of course, he wanted to see her again, that was why he was at her doorstep right this moment, but then a specific part of her sentence caught his attention. He furrowed his brows.

“All that happened between me and Tom?” She had been nervously picking at her nails. One of her cheeks a bit hollowed out indicating she was biting her inner cheek. When he repeated her words she froze. Her mouth opened just a little bit.

“What?”

“That’s what you said? What do you mean?” He already knew. He didn’t know how or when, but she heard him and Tom fight. His mind started to twist. How much had she heard? All the comments he had said to Tom were gonna bite him in the ass now. Could he prove to her that he didn’t mean it? That it was all just rash words with no meaning.

“I heard you guys fight last night. I swear I didn’t hear anything, I mean, not a lot… And I walked away as soon as I realized what was happening.” For some reason, she started to laugh. Her sweater covered hand went up to her face. “God, at first I thought you guys were like rehearsing for some audition or something. I’m really that stupid.”  

Without thinking Harrison blurted out: “It was a rehearsal!” No, it wasn’t. But he said it anyway. No idea why. She looked confused. Definitely not believing him.

“It was? Because what I heard- it was too familiar to be a coincidence.” Shit, what could she have heard?  Harrison could feel his face heat up. This was in no shape or form good.

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know why I said that.” He closed his eyes for a moment. Now he was just waiting for a reaction. Any type really. Yelling, crying, even getting the door shut in his face. What eventually came was a little whispered: “Is it true?”

“Is what true?”  

“What Tom said? What you said? All of it?” Now, he had no idea what she was referring too.  _Everything_. But it couldn’t be everything.

“Is he really in love with me?” Her eyes were wide. Full of fear but also innocence. Her irises were screaming  _please don’t let it be true_. At the same time, the way she asked showed a juxtaposition. She did want him to love her. Harrison was really in a position to break her heart. He could easily tell her something that she didn’t want to hear and everything would be over. Then it would also be over for him.

“I don’t think I can speak for him. They’re his feelings, not mine. I have no idea how he might really feel for you. All I know is- he’s crazy about you. So crazy that it drives me crazy.”  The comment made her cheeks turn pink. It put a soft smile on his face to see her happy. She had this aura around her of beauty and happiness that he wanted to be a part of but was scared that if he stayed too long, he would destroy it. 

That was why he had to speak up.

“That’s also kind of why I came here.” Another silence between them. “Because… I like you too. I know I said it before. And I know you said you like me too… but do you really? Or was it just because of-”

“Harrison,” she sighed. Her voice saying his name shut his vocal cords immediately. “I do like you. I really do. You are a great guy. Yesterday was one of the most fun days I have ever had.” He wanted to say that the same was true for him. However, he didn’t say anything. He knew there was more to that story. Nobody ever summed up all the pro’s without a con. WIthout a  _but_.

“But,” and there it was, “I also like Tom. At least I think I do. Just like I think I like you. Right now I really am in no place to say anything for certain.”

“I understand.” he did. He felt exactly the same. When he was with her. He felt something. Deep inside of him, there was this pull that send emotions up to his brain. He just couldn’t tell what they were.

“I mean, it’s way too soon to tell, isn’t it. We barely know each other. Yet here we were yesterday, kissing-”

“YOU KISSED!?” They both jumped up at the stark scream. It wasn’t either one of them. There was nobody around them to yell it out.  _What the hell?_  The voice continued shouting. “You kissed him? Bitch, why didn’t you-”  It was coming from her phone. The pure terror on (y/n) face told Harrison that she had no idea she had an open call on the line. She put the phone up to her ear.

“Oh my god, Maze, why the fuck did you not hang up?” he couldn’t hear what the person was saying. He could only laugh as he saw the girl in front of him dramatically roll her eyes. “Yeah, well, if I say  _talk to you later,_  I expect you to hang up if I didn’t. No! No, I did not want you to listen. I don’t know why I didn’t tell you. Maybe because it’s none of your damn business Maze! Yeah, bye. Love you too.” She pulled the phone away and clicked multiple times on the “end call”. Then she looked up at Harrison. Face really hot pink now.

“I am so sorry. That was my roommate. She was born a nosy bitch. I mean, she’s great. If you would get to know her you would love her and she really doesn’t always eavesdrop on people’s conversations. Well, she does on mine but-”

“It’s okay.” he laughed. Genuinely laughed out loud. Something he did not think he would do after the conversations he’s had with Tom. She started laughing nervously too.

“Really, because I was planning on cussing her out later.”

“Yeah, it’s cool. Kinda sweet actually. I assume you keep her in the know about everything. Letting her know you’re okay.” She just nodded at his assumption.

“Yeah, so also sorry but I did tell her everything about yesterday. You know how girls are, always talking about everything.”

“But not about the kiss?” he raised an eyebrow. Her smile disappeared. A flat “uhhhh…” took its place.

“I hadn’t gotten to that part yet. Literally was about to tell her when you knocked on the door.”  She smiled apologetically. As if she needed to excuse herself to why she didn’t talk about her private life to someone. It didn’t bother him. It was a bit of a relief really.

And once again a silence dropped down upon them. He was getting sick of these long moments where his words didn’t want to cooperate.

“Anyway,” he cleared his throat after a full minute of not talking. “I wanted to say before we were nicely interrupted, that you are right. It is way too soon to tell if we have any feelings for each other. Or at least, to identify those feelings as something specific.” The smile on her face told him that she agreed to what he was saying.

“So what are you exactly suggesting?”

“That we just start this thing all over again. Yesterday never happened. Anything before right now erased out of the universe. A fresh start for a new friendship.” He definitely did not miss the sparkle in her eyes when he finished speaking.

“Okay, that does sound like a good idea.” She reached out her hand to him. “I’m (y/n). Nice to meet you uhm…”

“Harrison. Nice to meet you too.” he shook her hand. He wanted to ignore how soft her fingers felt but it was undeniable. They kept shaking hands for a little too long. He kept looking into her eyes and she looked up into his. Then he noticed that a small eyelash had fallen on to her cheek. That little detail made him drop his hand, let go of her loving and simple touch. If he was starting to notice things like that, he was definitely looking for too long.

“Uhm (y/n), you have uhm an eyelash.” he pointed at his own cheek. She gasped a little “oh” and tried to brush it off with the side of her index finger but the lash didn’t even budge. Harrison’s hand twitched as he debated whether or not to do it himself or not. In the end, he did. He let his hand cup her cheek and with his thumb carefully get rid of the eyelash.

Her eyes glanced over at his hand while he stayed focused on all of her. She really was beautiful. Internally he was screaming at himself. Screaming to let go and to back off, but he was doing the exact opposite. He found himself leaning in. But she wasn’t stopping him. She had placed her hand on his chest and for a second Harrison thought she would push him away but that was all it was. Just a soft palm against the soft material of his hoodie. Her fingers slowly curled up as she tried to get a grip. Their faces kept coming closer. Her eyes not sparkling anymore. She had closed them.

What were they doing? Right seconds after saying they would start over again they took a big U-turn. There was still time though. He could still pull away. At least two more seconds.

But he didn’t want to pull away. He could feel her breath on him. She smelled like wine. It was actually intoxicating him. He needed to taste it.

One. This was the last chance.

 ** _Crash_**.

They pulled away.

________________________________________

Of course, Tom followed Harrison. After he saw him walk down the street, in seconds he had turned the shower off again, put his shirt back on and he was walking out the door. With heavy steps and quick breaths, he walked outside, meeting the cold wind of the city.

He didn’t have to think. He immediately took the turn to the left.

 _Screw his happiness,_  he thought. Tom had been willing to give up his own feelings for his friend. He didn’t want to do it but that’s just the way the world works. You can not make everyone happy, sometimes not even yourself, but to help someone else be happy should be a reward in itself. So then why couldn’t Harrison do the same for him? Why did he have to sneak around his back when they could just talk about it. Try to figure this whole thing out together, see where things took them naturally.

He suddenly stopped. Right in front of the hotel. The building towering over him in a menacing way. His hips were already moving to turn back around. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. What would he find if he went upstairs? It would probably be much worse than what he had encountered on the couch.

He started doing the worst thing he could be doing: thinking.

This was all his fault. If he had just kept his mouth shut, bite down on his tongue, he could still be having a civil conversation with Harrison. Or back on set, or even yesterday in the kitchen. It could have all been avoided if he had taken a deep breath and just thought  _rationally_  for a second. Let Harrison speak for himself. Once. If he had done it at least once it could have been the change that he wished there was.

While his brain kept screaming  _turn back, dumbass!_ his legs kept on moving. He walked into the hotel. Obviously, it looked the same as the first time he had been there. The same beautiful furniture occupied by some fancy and privileged white people. Snobbing grins on their faces as one of them laughed obnoxiously.

Tom hoped to catch the familiar face in the lobby. Could he get lucky this one time? Apparently, he could. He walked over to the bellboy, who stiffened up when he saw Tom walk up to him.

“Hey, uh… James, is it?”  The boy nodded. Tom smiled kindly. “Did you by any chance see my friend walk by. The same guy I was here with last time.”

The boy started mumbling but then cleared his throat and tried again. “Uhum, yes. I did. He went up with the elevator.”

“Yeah I thought he would,” Tom glanced over at the two identical pairs of metal doors. He gritted his teeth before turning back to James. His instinct was to now ask what room (y/n) was in but he didn’t want to come off as a creep. This guy thought he was her friend, a friend should know their hotel room number. So, he just patted him on the shoulder, said: “Thanks mate.” and ran off to the elevators. He got lucky once, could he try his luck again. He pressed the button of the top floor. As the little cabin moved up he felt the pressure on his body on the floor. He was being squeezed down by the forces of nature.

The tight grip on his chest by the invisible forces making his head spin. Oh no, this wasn’t gravity. How silly. It was anxiety. HA ha…ha.

And then he looked to the side. The steel walls so clean he could see his own distorted reflection. The next thing that happened was strange. It was like some type trigger inside of him had just went off as he looked at the wall. He could see himself standing there. With her. Flashes of what happened yesterday evening shot before his eyes. He could feel her. Hear her soft whimpers as he had her pressed against him. Their beating hearts going faster as their minds slowed down. Only being able to think about what was happening at the moment…

He shook his head just to follow it by hitting it against the wall in frustration. He slammed his fist over his head too. Stayed there for a moment, trying to keep it together until he heard the ding telling him the doors were opening. He pulled himself away from the cold steel. Took a few deep breaths to gain his composure. This was ridiculous. Why in god’s name was he acting so pathetic?

The elevator was in the middle of a corridor which almost immediately turned to another split at the ends. It felt natural to him to just go left. So he did. But he didn’t get far. Even before he reached the corner he heard voices.  _Their voices._

So at least they weren’t kissing. But now what? He couldn’t stand there and just listen. That would be so wrong on so many more levels than their  _relationship_  already was at. No. He had to go up to them. Tell is straight as it is. Maybe punch Harrison in the… no! Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to go up to them. But he just had to see what was happening.

At the corner of the hallway, there stood a housekeeping cart. The cleaner using it had probably left to get some more fresh towels. Very slowly, to make sure he didn’t make a noise, he pushed it a bit forward, hiding behind it somewhat decently. He peaked his head over the cart and yup, there they stood. They were just talking. Now with a lower volume. Did they hear him? Did they know he was there?

Tom kept telling himself to look away. To walk away. But the longer he stayed the harder it got to listen to himself. It didn’t feel like he was watching his best friend and the girl that he had feelings for. It was like watching a foreign movie. With no subtitles. He had no idea what was going on. Nothing made sense to him anymore. It was like looking at two strangers.

Then he saw it. He saw Harrison move closer to her. It wasn’t clear what he was doing at first. Brushing off an eyelash of her cheek? Putting a loose strand of her behind her ear? But Tom saw where it was going. Harrison kept his hand on her cheek. He leaned in as she got up on the tips of her toes. Her hand on his chest. Eyes fluttering closed.

He couldn’t bear this anymore. He had to leave, now! Tom got up, holding on to the top of the cart. Unfortunately, he pushed himself off too hard, causing the cart to roll forward. With nothing to stop it, it smashed loudly into the wall. He cringed at the noise. “Fuck.” His cover was most likely blown. He had to get away before one, or worse both, of them, would go up and check what made the noise. With five large steps, he was back at the elevator. The doors opened almost immediately at the press of the button and he stepped inside, pressing any random number, just to get away from this floor.

As he felt his stomach drop as he went down, the anxiety didn’t leave his body. Why would it when he knew he had to go back?

________________________________________

Your lips were only inches apart. You could smell his fresh peppermint breath. You wondered what he would think of you. You probably reeked of alcohol and fried oil. What a romantic combination. But the feeling of his thumb carefully moving over the apple of your cheek made you forget about all of it. Like by some magic, he was literally pulling you. You closed your eyes, ready for the spell to hit.

But it never came.

Instead, you heard a loud crash of metal, followed by a lot of other sounds. It was enough to break the spell. Harrison pulled his hand away as if you were on fire and took a step back. You opened your eyes and lowered your heels back to the ground. Huh, you hadn’t even realized you started to tiptoe.

You looked to the side. There was just a cart against the wall. Some toilet paper rolls had fallen off of it as a result of the crash. The strange thing was that no one had appeared behind it. Like the cart had moved on its own.

“I should go,” Harrison spoke up first. You looked back at him. The first thing you wanted to do was to tell him  _no, don’t go. Stay_. But what would happen after that? Definitely, nothing you had agreed on. So, crossing your arms, you just nodded.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you around.” you bit your lip, not sure what the next action should be. A handshake would be too formal. A hug a bit too close for comfort. God, this felt like a weird break-up. And you haven’t even ever been together!

“Sure.” Harrison laughed, looking at the ground. There was a moment of silence where both of you wanted to make a move. To do anything, really. But neither of you did. Although he did look up at you again. “Would you maybe wanna hang out tomorrow?” 

“I would lo- I would really like that.” You smiled. With another small bye he walked away. You watched him walk around the corner. He didn’t look back. You didn’t expect him to. Or maybe you did, it wasn’t clear what you were thinking. A part of you wanted to run after him. To jump into his arms and kiss him as if your life depended on it. Feel those soft lips at least one more time. It wasn’t even because of the feelings you had for him. You wanted to taste him again because… because you knew you would never again. This was probably your last chance.

You stepped back into your hotel room. Closing the door behind you. You leaned your forehead against it. Your phone tightly in your hand pressed against your chest. You had to close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths and count to ten. This really just happened. You  _almost_  kissed Harrison again. Most likely never again. 

Well, at least he wanted to be friends. That was  _something_.

Once your heart had stopped racing, you turned your phone on. Already two missed calls from Maze. You told her you were gonna call her back, dammit. Why didn’t she ever listen?  

But Maze wasn’t the one you  ~~wanted~~  needed to call. You searched in your contacts for the number you had saved only yesterday. You were about to press it when you heard a knock on the door. Did Harrison come back?

You didn’t even check the peephole, just opened the door wide. You were seconds away from your brain telling you to jump into his arms when you saw that it wasn’t the baby blue eyes that you were looking at.

“Tom?” You looked him up and down. He looked a little bit of a mess. The dark circles under his warm eyes were only getting darker. He didn’t show much emotion in his face and the ones that he did, broke your heart. He had his hands in his pockets. His breath was shaky before he asked you hesitantly:

“May I come in?”


	10. The One on the Balcony

When Harrison came back to the hotel he found the suite to be empty. At first, he thought that Tom might still be in the shower. He always spends a long time in the bathroom anyway. But he listened for a second. The whole apartment was quiet. No water running, no off-key singing. Nothing.

“Tom?” he said out loud. A bit hesitant. There came no response. Maybe he was already asleep. He was about to walk to the big bedroom when his brain thought of something else. He quickly spun around and looked at the door. His idea had not exactly caught up to him yet as he wasn’t sure what he was looking for. Then, he realized something. Neither Tom’s jacket or shoes were there. He left.

“Shit.” Harrison groaned. There was no doubt in him about where he could have gone. After all, Harrison had not exactly made an effort in hiding what he was planning on doing earlier. Especially when he saw that his own backpack was still standing next to the door.  _Stupid_.

Not sure what to do now, he just slouched down on the couch and turned the tv on. He tried to concentrate on whatever show he was seeing in front of him, but his heart and mind raced, thinking about what was happening just a few blocks away.  What were they talking about? Were they doing more than that?

But why would he care? They were just friends. It was his own brilliant idea.  _God, why did he have to suggest to be “just friends”?_

Just friends.

It couldn’t get worse than that. He literally friend zoned himself. It was so stupid. He didn’t want to be friends… unless friends could kiss each other? Unless he could grab her by the waist and not let go. If he could pin her down on his bed and mark every inch of her with his lips and still be just friends…then yeah, sure. He could be  _just friends._

Harrison tried to make himself more comfortable on the couch, but whatever, he did, he felt horrible. Something in him was sending this feeling through his body, his clothes felt tight against his skin…

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” With a groan, he got up from the couch and sulked to the bathroom to take a cold shower.

________________________________________

“Can I come in?” His heart was beating in his throat. The silence feeling like it was going on for an eternity. He was scared to look her in the eyes but it wasn’t like he could actually look away. She was beautiful and as always, mesmeric.

She bit her lip and looked at him for a good few seconds. Clearly debating on whether or not she should let him in. He understood. They were practically strangers. Strangers with a still very complicated history. Could you actually call a week “history”?

A week. It had only been a week. The longest week of his life. In a week he had fallen in love with a girl he didn’t know. He knew it was wrong. He had told himself this since the very first day. The other thing he kept telling himself, though, was that he needed to see her again. He needed a chance to get to know her. To hopefully make her fall in love with him if it wasn’t too late. He hoped his best friend had not stolen her from him already. That once again she slipped away through his fingers and this time for good. He hoped that she would give him the chance.

“Sure. Come on in.” She stepped aside to let him in. He gave her a weak smile and took the step forward. For some reason, the lights in her hotel room were off. Only the blue glow of the tv in the living room area was shining.

“I was actually about to call you, like right now.” she laughed nervously, brushing her hair behind her ear. The words made Tom blush like a schoolboy. At that moment he was really glad for the darkness of the room.

“Really?” He wanted to kick himself at how childish he sounded. Fortunately, she didn’t mind. Still, in the dark, he saw her nod her head lightly. She lead him to the lounge part of the room. He couldn’t lie, Tom was surprised at how big her hotel room was. With all the different doors he saw, he could assume there were probably at least two bedrooms, a bathroom, maybe even two, and a wardrobe. When he looked back at her, she was staring right at him.

“Believe me, I don’t know how I got to live in this place. My company paid for the whole trip. I assume they feel guilty for sending me across the globe for two weeks on my own.” she laughed, a bit sadly.

It got darker in the already pretty dark room. The tv turned off to standby mode. She jumped up from the sudden change. They stood in the dark for a few seconds before they both burst out in laughter.

“Do you wanna go to the balcony?” she suggested. “It’s a really nice view.”

“Uhh, yeah sure.” He didn’t really care where they would be. He just needed to talk to her. Y/n took his hand and lead him to one of the doors which turned out to be a bedroom. This confused him a little bit. Once again, she caught on to it, explaining before he could ask her anything.

“The only entrance to the balcony is through the room. Please ignore the mess.” She let go of his hand to open the double doors. Tom felt cold. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the wind that blew by or because she wasn’t holding his hand anymore. He followed her outside. The view indeed was incredible. The setting sun only showing its tip above the horizon. The sky in an ombre from hot pink and orange, to midnight blue. Around it, the silver lights of billboards. There were no stars visible in the sky but the thousands of lights in the skyscrapers compensated enough for it.

But Tom didn’t care for any of it. He had maybe looked at it for a second. His eyes stayed glued on y/n. She had stepped outside and walked over to the edge of the balcony, leaning her arms on the small stone wall. Her hair flew around in the wind. She turned around when she couldn’t hear him walk.

“I mean, we don’t have to be out here, I just thought it would be nice.” she shrugged. Tom shook his head, trying to come back to reality and took the step on to the balcony. There were a small table and chairs in the corner. For the rest, it was just various plants hanging off the side. His breathing was uneven but he tried to control it. _Slowly in, slowly out._  Fortunately, she hadn’t noticed.

“It is.” He reached the spot next to her and leaned with his hands on the barrier. Some ivy brushed against his fingers. It wasn’t bothering him, he just wished it was her soft fingers against him and not an old leaf. “I just zoned out there for a moment. Sorry.”

They both looked at the serene city skyline in front of them. y/n spoke, without taking her eyes away from it. “What uhm what were you thinking about?” Tom tore his eyes away from the sparkling building to look at her profile. Just like everything else about her, it was just perfect. He didn’t know what to say. Not sure if he would be too weird, too forward with the truth. But maybe he needed to be exactly that. A week he had been scared to take a step in the direction and look where it got him…

“You.” She looked back at him. Was it because his answer surprised her? Or was it because she could feel his eyes on her?

“Oh.” She looked away just as quickly but there was a glimpse of a smile in the corner of her lips.

“Yeah.” Tom sighed, not sure what else to say. He was on a roll so he might as well just go for it. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since we met. Not in a creepy way. At least, I hope not. But you are just-”

“I’ve been thinking about you too Tom.” she muted him with her small confession and the small gesture of moving her hand closer to his. So close that their pinkies could touch and hook around each other.

“You have?” he raised an eyebrow, not believing it. He had really thought that he had lost his chance with this beautiful girl. She nodded with a little “mhm”, assuring him that she meant it. He couldn’t help but ask again, just to be sure. “Really?”

She laughed. It was a beautiful laugh. Sincere and joyful. Her eyes almost closed and small happy crinkles formed next to the corners. Her smile wonderful. At that moment, his heart skipped a beat just looking at her.

“Yes. Really. I haven’t stopped thinking about you either, Tom. It was driving me insane that I lost your number, or so I thought,” she bit her lip. Tom started to catch on that it was a nervous tick of hers, “I feel so stupid that it was in my pocket the whole time. I swear, if I had known, I would have called you the first chance I got… Wow, what a way not to sound desperate.” A nervous a laugh, followed by biting her lip and her hand brushing through her hair. Right then, he wished he could be the one doing it.  He fought the urge to move closer and touch her.  Reminding himself that he couldn’t. That she would probably kick him out if he did something wrong, rightfully so.

“No, it’s okay. It’s actually reassuring. All this time I thought I was the desperate one.” He chuckled and send her a playful wink. It could have been a reflection of the pink sky and the setting sun, but it looked like her cheeks were turning a little pinker by the second.

Their laughter died down slowly. They were standing next to each other, close but still not as close as he wanted to be. The way her hand was placed on the railing, her fingertips a mere inch from his, practically reaching out for his own hand, he could sense that she wanted it to. The way her eyes were locked with his was another sign. They only left his gaze when she blinked or when they moved down to his lips. It was an action shorter than a second but he didn’t miss it. He was so entranced, he couldn’t miss a single thing.

Some time went by. It could have been a few seconds, it could have been hours. No one knew. At least Tom didn’t. He was really losing himself. Falling deeper and deeper into this whole that he had dug himself into. He had to get out before there really was no way out. Or maybe pull her in with him.

“I was serious by the way,” he broke the silence, “what I said in the elevator then. I really do have feelings for you.”

“I know.” she took his hand in his. Her fingers were soft. Gentle and careful. “And I feel the same way.” His stomach did a flip at the sound of those words. Butterflies flew around while fireworks were going off in his heart. But the image of her and Harrison in the hallway, on the couch, it was bothering him too much to let it slide. He had to say something about it.

“What about Harrison?”  

“I thought I had feelings for him too. Maybe I do, I don’t know for sure.” Tom did his best to suppress the troubled expression on his face. He didn’t like the sound of that. Not one bit. Of course, feelings are something you have no control over, but it was still bothering him that he couldn’t have her heart for himself. Apparently, he had not done a good enough job with hiding his emotions as she took the tiniest step forward and cupped his cheek. Tom could feel himself melting into her touch. This was another thing that made her so different from anyone he had ever met before. Usually, he was the one turning the girl into putty in his hands. He had control over the situation. He always knew what to do and what to say. But with her… he wanted nothing but give her the world. Do anything to make her happy. Completely submit. He felt weak in the best possible way.

He had to ask, taking the risk of this not ending well with him. “Do you want to be with him?” She froze. Her hand still on his cheek. Then, very slowly, she nodded from left to right. No.

“But yesterday… in the hotel room…”

“I know. I shouldn’t have kissed him. It just fucked things up between all of us.” she let go of his face. The spot on which her fingers had just laid, had left a warm feeling on his skin. It lingered for a few seconds. “I never meant to come between you guys. I don’t want to be the reason of your falling out.”  

“How do you know about that?” The calm feeling she had left behind on him disappeared. She was feeling guilty, which made him feel guilty in his own turn. That wasn’t meant to happen. He didn’t want her to know about his raw with Harrison.

“I was there. I mean, I had come back to pick up my bag and was at the door when you started fighting.”

“You heard it all.” It wasn’t a question as much as a statement. A confirmation. She nodded again. This time up and down.  _Yes_.

“Not all, I left after a minute or two. I didn’t think it was right of me to stay there.” A minute or two. How far into the fight would that have been? Tom went through last nights events. What had he said? It was all horrible and he hated himself for saying it. It had all happened so fast, he had barely thought about the things that came out of his mouth. Clearly. Otherwise, he most likely would not have said it. A large wave of cringe flowed through him. A feeling close to the sensation of being tazed went through his spine. She kept looking at him with doe eyes. Was it possible that she had heard… he hoped not.

“So, you and Harrison, what are you-”

“We decided to just be friends.” Just friends? What he saw in that hallway didn’t seem like just friends to him.

“But… I saw how you two looked at each other.” should he confess of being in the hallway before. It would probably end up better than if he lied. “I saw you two at your door earlier.”

“I know you did.” That surprised him. The clear look of confusion amused her since she giggled a little. “That clashing housekeeping cart, I assume it was you.” Tom tried to go back through all his life, looking for a moment that was more embarrassing than this. The only thing he could think of was his dance experience with Madonna, and even that didn’t hurt as much. He couldn’t escape this. He couldn’t walk out.   the quick way out of here was jumping off the balcony and without an actual web shooter, he was unsure if he would make the jump.

“I’m so sorry. You must think I’m a total freak now. I’m sorry, I should-” He wanted to say that he should go but he never got the chance. Once again she had surprised him with her delicate lips. Although now a little chapped, they were still perfect. A perfect match on his. Unlike last time, he immediately reacted. He kissed her back as he would die without her being attached to him. Pressed his lips against her. He closed his eyes for a second until they both needed to take a step back and breath. He was glad to see that when he opened his eyes, so did she. She had a silly grin on her face.

“You are a bit freaky.” The wind blew by, and some hair stuck to his forehead, lightly poking him in the eye too. Gently, she pushed the hair aside with her hand. “But I like it.”

“I like you.” The way in which he said it, so dry and matter-of-fact, it was almost comical. She smiled.

“I like you too.” This was his bloody chance. He better take it, he knew that much.

“I’m just gonna go for it now, okay,” he took her hand in his and looked into her eyes. They were both laughing. Good, taking away the awkward pressure. Keep it light. “Would you want to go out with me?”  

“No.”

What was that sound? The soul-crushing sound that made his ears ring. Oh, it was just his heart breaking into a million pieces. No big deal. The little playful smile vanished off his face. He took a step back, his hand over his chest as if he got shot. In a way, it felt like that, yeah. He huffed out.

“Ooh, that hurts.” he lets out an airy laugh. Showing her it wasn’t meant as a serious comment, but also to actually laugh away the pain and humiliation that little word caused him. “That actually hehe-hurt.” He leaned against the little balcony wall separating them from the neighboring room.

“I know, it’s a bit contradicting to what I just said.” She didn’t move, “but I don’t think we should go out yet.”  

________________________________________

Why were you suddenly deciding to act responsible and normal? You never did. It wasn’t like you to think before you said. Yet here you were. Rejecting the hottest, probably most perfect, guy you had ever met. With a reasonable argument with it.

“I just- I just think that we should park it for a moment.” Tom looked confused. You wondered if the boy had ever had to deal with rejection before. Obviously, he is an actor. He must have had some auditions with a negative result. But has he had experienced rejection from a girl before? It didn’t look like it.

“We should get to know each other a bit. I mean, this is the third time we have ever spoken to each other.”

“Was it the kiss?” he quizzed. “Am I that bad that you don’t want to go out with me anymore? Seriously if I suck tell me. It won’t hurt me.” He spoke really fast. Maybe he tried to stop you from talking. The more you talked, after all, the more rejection.

“Tom,” why were you laughing? Nothing about the situation was funny. Frustration? Yes. Funny? No. Yet here you were, giggling at this bubbly idiot of a boy in front of you. His puppy brown eyes looking down at you. The heartbreak reflecting in it.

_Dammit._

He was trying to make you feel guilty, the sly dog. And it was working too. You wanted to take back the words.  _Keep it together for just a few moments._

“Tom, it wasn’t the kiss. It was… really fucking great, actually.”  _Not helping. Not helping at all._  He stepped back in front of you, taking your hand in his. It was cold, yet it rushed this hot spark between you.  _Fuck fuck fuck fuck. Get out before it’s too late._  You could push him away, walk away from yourself. But you didn’t want to. Whatever the fuck your mind was saying about pushing away, your heart was pulling him in.

“Then I don’t get it. You want to be with me, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have kissed me. Twice.” The little wise-ass actually winked. It made you weak in the knees. “So why not give in? Please y/n, you are the most amazing girl I have ever met. At least give me a chance here. I… I beg you. This is me begging you for one date. One date is all I ask of you. Then, you can break my heart. I will be broken but at least I will get to live knowing I had the chance to be with you at least for a minute.”

“You ramble, you know that?”

“Yeah, I do. So? Please.” You bit your lip and shook your head no. Tom groaned and let his head fall back. You felt his fingers lightly squeeze yours.

“I can’t. We don’t know each other. It’s weird….” you shook your head in correction. “No, that’s not what I meant. It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Nothing makes sense, darling. Nothing that happened this whole week made even a sliver of a sense. I have fallen for you the moment I saw you on that plane. From that second, my world started spinning and my heart doing backflips. It didn’t make sense to me then and it didn’t even begin to make any sense after. I don’t think it should start any time soon.” He looked deep into your eyes, nay, your soul. He was that deep. He took your other hand in his. All the things he just said, made you feel like you were on a cloud. On a little cloud in your own little world. Away from the rest. It was only you two.

“You really have a talent to make everything feel like some cliche rom-com.”

“Hmm, I should put that on my CV, then maybe I’ll get a role in one.”

“Oh god, you in a rom-com. Honestly, don’t think I could handle that,” you admitted. He raised an eyebrow. You were melting more and more into his touch. Getting closer and closer to him on so many levels.

“And why’s that, darling?”

“I can barely handle it how you call me  _that_. Let alone see you on a big screen, declaring your love in the rain to some beautiful actress.”

“Huh, so if I declare my love to you in the rain? Will you go out with me then?” he had let go of your hand to lightly and playfully poke your cheek. It made you scrunch your nose, which in his turn, made him smirk. “You’re cute.” He said. It was a little comment, a small whisper that maybe was only supposed to be a thought. But he said it and you heard it. Just as well as you heard the next sentence.

_“I really want to kiss you right now.”_

No idea what was coming over you. Why couldn’t you just make up your mind already? The only thing you were thinking was how good he looked and how his lips tasted and how you wanted to taste them again. You wanted to feel him again. It was just a kiss. No big deal. Those were the lies you told yourself as you opened your mouth and said: “So kiss me.”

He didn’t need to hear it another time. He cupped your face in his hands and kissed you as if his life depended on it. As if you were his last lifeline. You kissed him back in the same way. Forget everything you had just said. What the hell were you thinking? You needed him. Needed to be with him. Fuck being friends and taking it slow. Fuck getting to know each other. You could get to know each other in other ways.

Like he was getting to know you right now. Finding out about the little spot on your neck that made you soft when he kissed it. Realizing that squeezing your hip made you press more into him, tangling your fingers in his hair. It was then that you learned his little reactions to the things you did. The goosebumps he got when you kissed his jaw. The little moans he let out when you pulled his hair.

The kiss continued for ages. The night sky had turned pitch black. The traffic jams beneath you dispersed into the few unlucky people that had to work late and were now getting home to a cold dinner or were only leaving for work at their night shift. In whatever circumstances they were, they were far from lucky. Far from the luck that you were given.

You and Tom pulled apart, but your foreheads stayed pressed together. You had to close your eyes for a second because it was all getting too much. This overwhelming, warm feeling was flowing through you. You knew you had a stupid grin on your face. A little bit of warm air hit your cheek. Tom was so close to you, you could smell him perfectly. The mix of his deodorant with… chocolate? How did he always smell like candy? It only made you want him more. You always had a sweet tooth. You were actually craving him.

Some more air hit your hot cheek as he spoke. “If you really don’t want this, we can stop. Just tell me and I will step back.” You opened your eyes. Before everything, the last week was rushing through your mind. You were confused, unsure… but when you looked at Tom, into those brown eyes, you knew what you wanted. What you needed. He had asked you to say something if you didn’t want him so you kept quiet. He understood. With a big idiot grin, he brought his lips back to yours. Your shoulders relaxed as you gave into the kiss. Unbelievable. A few seconds without kissing him and you were already missing him.

The kiss got deeper and more heated with more and more passion. One of his hands traveled down your waist to your hip, then back to your ass. He squeezed gently, unsure if it was the right move. You more than approved with a small moan. Still kissing, it was a small vibration against his lips but it was enough for him to understand that you didn’t want him to stop.  _God_ , you wished he never stopped.

With you in his arms, you started to move away from the wall. From the direction in which you were walking, you assumed he was taking you inside. This, however, got interrupted when you bumped into something. Tom fell back into a chair. With you still in his arms and your lips practically glued to his, it was only natural that you fell on top of him. Straight on to his lap. The position was rather comfortable. You couldn’t lie about that. It got even more comfortable when he used his hand that was on your waist to pull you closer to him. His lips left yours only to be reattached to your neck. This gave you the opportunity to talk. Well… as much as you could make out audible sentences.

“Shooouldn’t we, uhm, go inside,” you suggested. He nodded yes against your neck, you could feel that by the way his little curls tickled your skin, but he didn’t move from the position he was in. Just kept attacking your neck with kisses and whatnot. You were pretty sure that if you looked in the mirror the next morning that you would find a little something as a reminder of this moment.

“We can go inside, darling. All up to you.” He said between peppering your skin with sweet kisses, sending shivers down your spine every time his lips connected themselves to you. Automatically, you arched your back, pressing your chest against him. It induced a low chuckle to come from his throat and the smirk you felt against you was undeniable.

“I mean we can stay, it’s actually pretty warm and I don’t know about you, but I’m comfortable. It’s just that… what if someone will see us.” You gasped the tiniest whimper when you felt his fingers slide up your stomach, moving your shirt up with it. He pulled away and looked at you. There was an indisputable glimmer of mischief on his face. It was exciting. This new feeling was burning inside of you and you didn’t want it to go away. But then you remember where you were when the wind blew your hair in your (and so into Tom’s) face. On your hotel balcony. Surrounded by tall buildings, the modern architecture of glass and steel making it very easy for someone at the opposite side of the street to see you. Even if they weren’t planning on catching the scene.

Tom gave you a light peck on the cheek. Then the other. On the tip of your nose. The kisses were so feather-light you barely felt them. Right before he kissed your lips he stopped to say: “I’ve always like to put on a show. How about you, love?” You answered in the form of closing the gap between the two of you. With your legs dangling of both sides of the chair, straddling his lap, you squeezed your thighs a little together to get a tighter grip on his legs. His hand crept more and more up your body until it met the soft fabric of your bra.

As he kissed your collarbone, you didn’t care if someone could see you. You couldn’t even think about it. For that moment, all the lights in the city had turned off. For a moment, it was just him and you in the world. Nothing else mattered.

________________________________________

Harrison stepped out of the shower. The cold water dripped down his body and when he got out of the small cubicle the change in temperature made goosebumps show up all over his wet body. He wrapped the white hotel towel around his middle and used another one to dry off his hair, then used it to dry his torso and arms off. He looked at himself in the mirror. The reflection showed the usual. His blue eyes stared straight back at him. Blonde hair now a wet mess, small curls forming in the bits that had managed to dry a little. His chest rising with the deep breaths he was taking.

The air in the bathroom was getting damp and clammy. Harrison opened the door to be met with even colder air in the living room area. He leaped for his phone that lay on the counter of the kitchenette. Stupidly he had put it there on his way to the shower and only realized his mistake while he was already completely soaked, which resulted in a quiet shower. Only left to his thoughts.

He hadn’t stopped thinking about her. It did block the whole purpose of the shower in the first place but he didn’t care anymore. Eventually, the cold water did its job and he relaxed his whole body under the stream. Midst washing out the shampoo suds from his hair, did she come back into his brain. He could only think about one thing. How he should have kissed her then. Not even to take back what he had said. It was the smart thing to do. They should just be friends. It was for the better. He realized that. If the opportunity came to him to make her his, he would take it, no questions asked.

But taking a leap like that, without knowing the other person, could be dangerous. Harrison liked to think of himself as a guy who takes risks. Who is adventurous, but at the same time still is careful and takes care of himself.

As much as they thought they liked each other now, things could change. It could even happen sooner than anyone would think. What then? They both would end up with ruined and just like that it would all be over. No, Harrison much preferred to take things slow and be friends with the chance for more in the future, than to risk having her in his life completely. An amazing girl like that, he didn’t want to lose her.

Yet still, he wished he had leaned in for that last final kiss. A final goodbye to this all. Some closure. How they jumped away from each other, it left a gap open. It made things feel unfinished. All he wanted to do now was go back and kiss her.

He picked up his phone and turned it on. No notifications. Neither from her or from Tom. It had been a good hour and a half since he had left the other hotel. Harrison could only assume Tom had done the same as he did and was now with y/n. He blocked out every attempt of his mind at guessing what they could be doing.  _Just talking. Figuring everything out._

But for fuck’s sake, how long could they talk? Harrison had gotten dressed in a pair of sweatpants, watched a couple of episodes of the Office and eaten all of the room service he had ordered after getting out of the shower and Tom still had not come back.

It was nearing midnight. Fatigue was getting to him, eyelids getting heavy, concentration poor. He needed some sleep. So that’s what he decided to do. He turned off the tv, got into bed and closed his eyes. He would have fallen asleep immediately if not for the bright blue light that erupted from his phone together with the loud vibration.  _A call._  He picked it up to see who it was from. Surprisingly it was Tom. He slid his finger across the screen and answered. Not having talked for a while his voice was low and croaky.

“Hey,” he closed his eyes and let his head hit the soft pillow. He listened to Tom’s voice, which all sounded tired.

“Hey, sorry to call so late, mate. Just letting you know I’ll be back in the morning. So don’t freak out if I’m not there.” followed by a sheepish laugh.

“Yeah okay,” Harrison stopped to yawn. His words were slow as he was half asleep and falling deeper into the slumber zone as he kept talking. “Where are you anyway?”

“Ah, I’m at Daya’s. You know, just hanging out.” Yeah, the tiredness was getting to him too. He could hear it.

“Uhuh, okay. See you tomorrow then.” Harrison ended the call without letting Tom get another word in. “What a bloody twat.” He threw his phone back on the nightstand. It was pitch black in the room but from the loud thuds, he assumed that the phone had bounced off the little table on to the floor. Lying there now, but he couldn’t care to check for damage. He was too pissed off.

Honestly, he wouldn’t care if Tom was at y/n’s. He didn’t care if he spends the night with her. It wasn’t his favorite scenario but they were all adults, he could live with it.

What he couldn’t live with though, was the fact that Tom had the audacity to straight up lie to him, his best friend. Whatever was going on, how mad they ever were at each other, they never lied. Yet there he was, lying about being at Zendaya’s. Normally he would have believed it no problem. If only it wasn’t for the fact that he had just texted with her and the rest of the gang. If it wasn’t for the fact that Zendaya was the one to bring up the fact that Tom had not added his piece to their very interesting conversation about trains (how they even got to the topic was beyond Harrison’s tired brain).  If it wasn’t for the fact that he could hear the sound of y/n giggling right before he hung up.


End file.
